


You're the Man, But I've Got the Power

by justyrae



Series: Just a Touch of Your Love [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Angst, Blow Jobs, Car Sex, Cunnilingus, Declarations Of Love, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Dirty Talk, Drinking, F/M, Face-Sitting, Genderswap, Jealousy, Making Love, Mile High Club, Punching, Rumors, Semi-Public Sex, Sexting, Sexual Roleplay, Teasing, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-25 00:15:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9793946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: It doesn’t matter how many times Louis lies to herself, everyone around her can see how far gone she is for Harry. It’s getting to be a problem.





	

**Author's Note:**

> THIS UNIVERSE IS RIDICULOUS AND I AM DONE WITH IT. seriously, this fic is like... 60% smut, 20% fluff, 10% angst and 10% me making shit up about the fashion industry to serve my needs.
> 
> i hope you enjoy it. big hugs to my beta J who kept me (mostly) sane while writing this.
> 
> title from "Power" by Little Mix
> 
> EDIT (1/22/18): i am not continuing this series any further. sorry if this disappoints anyone!

Louis has never been the biggest fan of flying. She gets bored far too easily on flights, no matter how short or long they are, and as far as she's concerned airports are the actual worst places on earth. She's been dreading flying back to London for ages, even after extending her week-long trip for close to a month.

Harry had been extremely convincing on the original day she was supposed to fly back, telling her that London was still far too dreary and she should stay in LA for a bit longer to soak up as much sun as she possibly could.

"It's for your own good," he'd said. "Really, I'm doing you a favor by letting you stay longer."

"Is that so?" she'd replied as she narrowed her eyes at him. She could see right through him.

"Absolutely. I've only the purest intentions, I swear."

Louis laughed. They were lying naked in bed together and Harry's hands were roaming across her skin, drifting lower and lower as he tried to keep her from leaving. Louis didn't answer, she simply leaned into his touch and closed her eyes as he started kissing her neck. They ended up staying in bed so long that even if Louis _had_ wanted to catch her flight, she wouldn't have been able to.

Really, all he needed to do was ask her to stay. She didn't need any other reason.

But today's the day she absolutely _has_ to fly back to London. The only comforting fact in all of this is the fact that Harry's going with her and he's promised her sex before they leave for the airport.

Louis huffs as she checks the time on her phone for the hundredth time in the last five minutes, trying to resist the urge to text Harry again. He promised to be home almost half an hour ago, he said his meeting wouldn't take that long. She scrolls through their texts and smirks as she rereads his responses to the dirty texts she'd sent the moment he'd left that morning.

_**please lou i can't be hard for this whole meeting** _

**_well if you hadn't left i could've helped you out with that problem_ **

**_i had to! :( you know i didn't want to, i had to_ **

**_tell that to my tits, they're awfully lonely y'know_ **

Louis blushes a little as she scrolls past the photo of her own breasts that she'd sent. She giggles at the row of anguished emojis that Harry had sent in return.

_**not fair. i'll make it up to them, i swear.** _

**_you'd better. my fingers aren't as good as yours, i'm already at three and it's just not enough_ **

Louis groans as she closes her texts and tosses her phone aside. It's starting to get late enough that Louis has to start considering getting out of bed and getting dressed instead of waiting for Harry like she wanted to. She stares at her phone, willing it to ring or buzz or _something_ so she knows that Harry's on his way back to her.

It's stupid, really, how far gone she is for him after just a couple of weeks. While she won't let herself admit that it's anything more than infatuation - "I just like his dick, alright? And his fingers. His tongue is pretty great too, and--" "Alright, Lou, fuck! I get it, stop talking about him already." "Fuck you, Niall, this is all your fault." - the way her chest seems to ache whenever he's gone for too long tells a different story.

Louis makes an angry, put-off noise as she grabs her phone and opens Snapchat, somehow deciding that this is a better idea than sending Harry a simple text. She lies down and arranges the duvet in just the right way so that it's covering enough of her to leave Harry wanting more.

 _ **still waiting for you…**_ she adds to the picture before she sends it, waiting on the conversations screen to watch how long it takes Harry to open it.

No more than thirty seconds later, she receives a snap in response. The picture is too dark for Louis to be able to see anything properly but it doesn't matter because Harry's gone and circled where his cock supposedly is and Louis grins as she reads the message attached.

_**still hard for you… home soon i promise** _

She sends back a snap of her face with her bottom lip tugged downwards in a pout, tilting the camera just enough to get the swell of her breasts at the bottom of the photo. This time Harry doesn't reply for several minutes, and when he does it's not with a photo.

"You're such a bloody tease," he murmurs into the phone.

"You love it," Louis titters as she stretches, already smiling far too much after only having been on the phone for ten seconds. "Where are you?"

"In a car, heading back to you." Louis hears shuffling in the background and she chuckles when Harry clears his throat. "What?"

"I didn't say anything," she replies as she fights a smile. "You keeping your hands to yourself?"

"Yeah," Harry answers with a frustrated groan. "S'hard though."

"So you showed me." Louis laughs as Harry groans again and says her voice with a whine. "Think we'll have enough time?"

"Not as much as I'd like," Harry answers with a sigh. "But enough to get in at least one for you."

"Is that why you're trying to get a head start?" Louis tuts. "Naughty."

"'m not, I promise."

"Good." Louis grins. "Nobody touches your cock but me."

Harry grunts. "Say cock again."

Louis giggles as she shuffles down and stretches out on the bed, twisting the sheets and rumpling the duvet just how she likes it. She ends up hanging up on Harry, telling herself that it's to keep him wanting more when in reality it's possible she would've ended up saying something stupid (i.e. more truthful than she's willing to) if she'd stayed on the line. No more than ten minutes pass between the time she hangs up and when she hears the alarm beep downstairs, signaling either that someone's broken in or Harry's opened the door.

Harry's silent as he climbs the stairs but Louis still hears his footsteps and plans her reaction accordingly, feigning indifference as she rolls onto her stomach and turns her back towards the door. It's still wide open from when Harry left, giving him an excellent view of her arse when he reaches the top of the stairs. Louis smiles when she hears Harry groan but she doesn't turn her head towards him, unwilling to give up her power over the situation.

Goosebumps pop up all across her skin as the bed shifts and Harry hovers over her, leaning his head down so he can put his mouth against the nape of her neck. Louis closes her eyes and a soft moan escapes her mouth when Harry presses his bare chest against her back; she doesn't know when he took his shirt off but _oh_ is she glad he did.

"Don't have much time," he whispers into her shoulder. Both of them groan as he presses his hips down against her arse and grinds, the rough denim of his jeans scratching her soft skin.

"Is the car waiting?" Louis asks, gasping when Harry sneaks his hands underneath her and palms her breasts.

"Told 'em to take a lap around the neighborhood," Harry continues as he teases her nipples between his fingers, "got maybe fifteen minutes."

"Then you'd better hurry up, hmm?"

Harry fits one of his hands underneath Louis' hips and presses his fingers against her clit, smiling against her skin when she jerks beneath him. He slides his hand further down and slips two fingers into her at once despite the awkward angle as he all but pins her against the bed.

"Harry," she whines breathlessly as she struggles beneath him, trying to get his fingers deeper inside of her to no avail.

"Hang on," he mutters before he flips them, rolling onto his back and pulling Louis with him so she's on top of him. He adjusts his left arm so he can hold her in place with his hand on her breast while he repositions his right hand so he can push his fingers into her further.

Louis keens and writhes around on top of him as he sucks on her neck, breathing harder as the heel of his hand presses down firmly against her clit. By now he knows exactly how to get her off with his fingers and he's pulling out all the stops to make her come as quickly as he can.

"C'mon, Lou," he groans in her ear, "lemme hear you."

"Harry," she moans brokenly. She's been feeling worked up for hours, her teasing doing just as much for herself as it did for Harry, and all she wants is to come. He squeezes her breast and thumbs at her nipple roughly as he adds a third finger and thrusts them deep inside, rocking his hips upwards at the same time so she can feel how hard his dick is against her arse.

It doesn't take long for her to come, panting and moaning his name as she rides his fingers and gets them wet with her slick. He groans softly as he presses his nose against her neck, breathing in her scent as he slowly withdraws his fingers.

Louis waits a minute or two to recover before she rolls over, pressing her front against Harry's so she can kiss him properly. She grinds her hips against his, wishing he'd taken his jeans off too so she could maybe persuade him into fucking her.

"Lou," he moans.

"How much time do we have?" she asks between hungry kisses.

"Not enough," he answers, his voice strained. Louis pulls back and pouts, watching Harry's mouth as he sucks his own bottom lip into his mouth. "Could maybe get you off with my tongue, though."

"Was hoping for your cock," Louis says with a thoughtful hum. "S'pose I can't say no, though."

"Promise I'll fuck you proper, later." Harry taps his fingers against her hips, watching her hungrily as she sits up and maneuvers to straddle Harry's head. "Fuck you in every room of my flat, just like I have here."

Louis flushes as certain memories of recent events flash in her mind, but her mind clears of everything a moment later when Harry presses his tongue against her and licks a long stripe through her wetness. She moans loudly and shakes, held up by Harry's strong hands on her hips to prevent her from collapsing from how good it feels.

Her second orgasm comes even faster than the first and soon she's a whimpering, shaking mess above him. She rolls off of him entirely afterwards, watching as he presses a hand against the zipper of his jeans to try and give himself some relief.

Louis, being the shit she is, bats his hand out of the way and presses her own against Harry's cock and squeezes just to see him squirm. He pants harshly as she does it again and he tries reaching out to pull her back towards him but she manages to slip away just in time.

"Shouldn't we be getting ready?" she asks with a coy smile as she climbs off of the bed, putting one hand on her hip as she stares down at Harry. He groans loudly in response and covers his face with his hands for a moment before he sits up and mock glares at her.

"Such a bloody tease," he grumbles.

*

It's at least another twenty minutes before they're ready to go, mostly because Louis had lied when she said her suitcase was packed. She smiles sweetly at Harry when he discovers her mess of a suitcase and through a little bribery and a lot of kisses he ends up packing the rest for her.

"Should've just left it all here," he says once they've both reached the bottom of the stairs with their suitcases.

"Then I wouldn't have any clothes until I got back to my own flat," Louis says as she rolls her eyes, "and who knows how long that'll be."

"Exactly." Harry grins as he pulls her against his side. "You'd be in my flat, naked. Can't think of anything better."

"Harry," Louis warns playfully as he bends down to kiss her neck. She turns her head and catches his mouth in a kiss before she pulls away, rushing ahead towards the door with her suitcase in hand.

Louis blushes a little when she sees the driver waiting by the car, unsure of whether she should apologize for making him wait. He smiles at her and takes her suitcase, putting it in the trunk while she climbs into the backseat. It's not a limousine (which she's honestly thankful for, that's too much for a trip to the fucking airport) but it is larger on the inside than she expected and there's an array of drinks waiting for them. She's pawing through them when Harry slides in and shuts the door behind him, making her jump just a little before she leans back and curls up next to him.

"Want one?" she offers, showing one of the tiny bottles of vodka she's taken from the bunch.

"What, trying to get me drunk before our flight?" Harry asks with a smirk.

"Not drunk," Louis replies with a scoff, "but maybe a little tipsy." She leans in and puts her mouth to his ear. "Like when you get a bit handsy."

Harry grunts and whispers her name like a warning even though his hand slides up her thigh and squeezes. She grins and nips at his earlobe with her teeth once before leaning forward, hanging off the seat as she asks the driver a question.

"Is there a thing that rolls up here?"

"Lou," Harry says with a laugh, "this isn't a limo, there's no--"

"Yes!" the driver replies, pressing a button and a little partition scrolls all the way up between them.

"Thank you!" Louis calls before she turns around and gives Harry a wicked smile. He gives another disbelieving laugh but keeps his eyes fixed on her, tracking every tiny movement she makes as she slides back into the seat next to him. She passes one of the tiny bottles to him, clinking her own against it when he takes it from her.

Harry raises an eyebrow as he watches her crack it open, knock it back, and then lick her lips afterwards. She gives him an expectant look and he shakes his head as he follows suit, taking a little more time to drink his bottle as she rummages around in her purse.

As soon as he tosses the bottle aside, she climbs into his lap and starts kissing him hungrily. The sharp taste of alcohol is fresh on his tongue and she chases it, getting drunk off of his touch faster than the vodka can hit her system.

"Lou," he mumbles as he kisses her back, "Lou, we can't--"

"Didn't think it was fair," she says as her hands drop down to Harry's belt and start unbuckling it. "You didn't get to come."

"Fuck, Louis," Harry groans as he slips his hands underneath her shirt, palming her tits and loving the fact that she decided not to wear a bra. He gasps as she pulls his cock out and strokes it a few times before she pulls her mouth away from his and reveals what she was rooting around in her bag for: a condom.

"Still want your cock," she offers as an explanation, biting her lip to hold back her grin as Harry stares at her with wide eyes. He curses again and pulls her back in for a filthy kiss as he slides his hands down into her joggers and tries to pull them off without letting her off of his lap.

Louis giggles a little as she breaks the kiss and slides off Harry's lap, pressing the condom against his chest so he can deal with it while she takes off her joggers. Harry concentrates more on watching Louis get undressed than he does rolling the condom onto his cock, but somehow he manages to be ready for her when she climbs back onto his lap.

"You're such a naughty girl," he moans as she sinks down onto his cock. "Gonna be the death of me."

"You keep saying that," Louis replies with a breathy laugh, gasping when Harry puts his hands on her hips and grips them roughly as he pulls her closer to him.

"Because it's true," he murmurs as he sits up so their bodies are pressed together tightly. "'m always thinking about you, can't stop myself from getting hard and wanting you on my cock."

"Knew it," Louis says, trying to laugh but it turns into a moan halfway through when Harry snaps his hips up into her. "Can't keep your hands off me, can you?"

"No," Harry moans as he rucks up her shirt and licks her nipple, teasing it with his tongue before he sucks it into his mouth and moans again. "Just wanna keep you in my bed, make you come over and over."

"Now who's naughty?" Louis tries to keep her voice steady but it's so hard when Harry's fucking her so well, rubbing his hands all over her body as his mouth teases her and makes her even wetter than before. "Dirty, selfish boy. God, Harry."

"You love it," he groans, "you love knowing what you do to me. Bet you'd play out every single one of my fantasies if I asked, wouldn't you?"

"Depends." Louis' moan betrays her words but she keeps going. "Dunno what's going on in that filthy mind of yours."

"I'll tell you, let you know everything. Get you so wet, listening to what I wanna do to you." Harry presses his head against Louis' chest as he starts to shake. "Fuck, Lou, I'm getting close."

"Touch me," she begs. "'m close, Harry, _fuck_."

"Yeah, babe." Harry starts rubbing his thumb against her clit. "Come for me, look so good when you come."

"Yes, yes, Harry, yes!" Louis cries out and clings to him, digging her nails into his shoulder as she comes. Harry doesn't stop fucking into her, he snaps his hips against her relentlessly as he chases his own orgasm and she moans with every thrust. Her body feels like it's on fire but she doesn't beg him to stop, it feels so overwhelmingly incredible that she can't stop moaning louder and louder even though their driver can surely hear her by now.

"Fuck, Lou, fuck, you feel so good." Harry grunts. "'m so close, god, _fuck_!"

Louis feels it when Harry comes, his cock twitches so hard inside of her that she comes again and they both moan far too loudly considering where they are. Louis whimpers as Harry rocks his hips against her and she clenches around him, shaking in his lap from oversensitivity.

"That was…" Harry chuckles and Louis laughs weakly.

"Top five, definitely," Louis murmurs as she kisses Harry's cheek and slowly lifts her hips so Harry's cock slips out of her. She all but collapses onto the seat next to him, laying down on her back as she tries to catch her breath and make her head stop spinning. Harry leans over and kisses her hip, slowly making his way up her torso as she hums in satisfaction.

"You're gorgeous, you know that?"

"Shut up," she mumbles. Her cheeks are already red from the sex but she blushes even more at Harry's words.

"Wanna make you come again," he murmurs as he starts moving back down towards her clit.

"Harry," she whines.

"Won't be able to taste you for hours," he says, gently pressing the tip of his tongue to her clit. She gasps and finds herself rocking upwards into the touch. "C'mon, Lou."

"Alright, alright," she groans, "but you'll probably have to carry me into the terminal because I don't think my legs will work after another one."

Harry smirks. "Challenge accepted."

*

Louis' head is still a little fuzzy by the time they reach LAX but she's at least got all of her clothes back on and is able to stand on her own two feet. Still, she finds herself gravitating towards Harry and leaning on him for support as they wait in the security line. He doesn't seem to mind at all given the way he keeps his arm wrapped around her waist, pressing kisses against her hair even with the paparazzi hanging around taking pictures of them.

She'd almost forgotten, what with them spending most of the last month holed up in Harry's house, that Harry was properly famous whereas she was only just really starting to gain notoriety in the fashion world. It scares her a little to see so many people so interested in her because of Harry and she tries to push every worry out of her head as she turns her face away from them.

"You okay?" Harry murmurs.

"Fine," she replies with a haphazard smile. She avoids looking Harry in the eye but he doesn't press it until they're well past security and have a bit of privacy in the main terminal.

"What's wrong?" he asks as they choose seats a little further away from their gate and sit down. Louis shies away from him at first but he manages to tug her into his arms and she sighs heavily.

"The bubble popped," she murmurs.

"What?" Harry laughs softly as Louis tilts her head back so it rests on his shoulder and sticks out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Our, like, sex bubble or whatever," Harry laughs again and she elbows him in the side, "shut up. I'm just saying that it was nice to not have to deal with… people."

"You mean the paps?" he asks, his smile fading into a frown.

"Yeah," Louis replies. "Sort of forgot that you're a little famous."

"Just a little." Harry chuckles and Louis hides her face in his shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. 'm sorry that you had to deal with that."

"That's how it's gonna be now, innit?" Louis lifts her head again. "You have to deal with that all the time, don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry answers with a sigh. "It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world, I promise."

"Dunno how you do it." Louis shakes her head as she curls her fingers around the collar of Harry's shirt. "I'd probably lose it on them like, twice a day, at least."

"They're just doing their job. Don't roll your eyes, Lou."

"I didn't!"

"You did too." Louis huffs but doesn't protest again. "We'll have another bubble, I promise. An even sexier bubble."

"Stop it," Louis says as she tries not to start laughing. "Don't say it again."

"You're the one who said it first," he says as he grins widely at her. "Sex bubble."

"God, I take it back, I want nothing to do with you."

Louis tries to pull away but Harry won't let her go. He cups his hand against her jaw and brings their mouths together, kissing her even as he keeps smiling. She laughs softly when he rubs his nose against hers but when he kisses the tip of it she can't stop herself from rolling her eyes again.

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah, but you think I'm cute."

"Do not, you're terrible." Louis turns so that her back is to Harry but they're still pressed tightly together, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I'm incredible."

"You're the worst."

"That's not what you were saying earlier." Harry puts his mouth to Louis' ear as he adds, "couldn't get enough of me in the car."

"Keep it up and you'll never taste me again," Louis threatens even as she sags against him, going boneless at the memory of how good it felt to have Harry between her legs mere hours before.

"We'll see about that." Harry grins and presses a kiss against her cheek. "You know I love a challenge."

Louis hums as she makes herself comfortable in Harry's arms, trying to ignore how they're drawing a bit of attention from the other travellers passing by. Nobody thus far has gotten the courage to approach them but Louis wonders if it's simply a matter of time before someone does. She tries not to be put off by the idea but as far as her first brush with real celebrity status goes, it's definitely not her favorite.

Even though her own personal level of fame has started to rise in London over the last few years, Louis has never had to deal with paparazzi on her own. As much as she likes Harry - which she still won't admit aloud - she finds it hard to admit whether a proper relationship with him would be worth the hassle of losing her privacy.

With all these confusing thoughts swirling around in her head Louis finds herself curling into Harry's side even more, seeking comfort even if she won't ask for it directly. She's constantly torn between the two feelings: wanting to get closer to Harry and wanting to keep her distance, and it's honestly starting to wear thing.

As much as she hates to admit it, her past forays into the world of romance have left her a bit broken. None of her exes had as big of an impact as Zayn even if they weren't ever really a thing, at least according to him. Even just having his name cross her mind fills her with a mix of rage and sadness and she turns her head to hide her face against Harry's chest.

She groans when their boarding group is called and she's forced to pull away from the warmth of Harry's arms so she can grab her bag and follow him to the gate. All she's looking forward to is finding her seat and cuddling up to Harry again, but when they board the plane she finds that it's going to be far more difficult to do that than she imagined.

"What the fuck are these?"

"They're our seats," Harry says as he gives her a gentle push. "C'mon, Lou, we can't hold up the line."

"But…" Louis whimpers a little as she stumbles out of the aisle and tentatively sits down in the seat next to the window. "It's weird."

"I think they call them sleep pods, or something? If you recline it all the way, the seat turns into a bed!" Harry reaches over the divider between them and presses a button and Louis' seat starts reclining and she jumps, quickly pulling her legs underneath herself so they don't get stuck between the end of her seat and the pod in front of her.

"Weird," she mutters under her breath.

"Cool, right?" Harry smiles at her. Louis manages a weak one in return as Harry presses the button again and her seat goes back to normal. "Lou, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Lou." Harry sighs. "You've got that sad look on your face again."

"I do not," Louis retorts before sticking out her tongue at him. "It's just… don't really like flying, is all. Just a bit of nerves."

"Why didn't you say so?" Harry frowns. "D'you want a drink or something?"

"Trying to get me drunk, Styles?" Louis asks, immediately switching gears to draw attention away from her anxiety. "Gonna take me into the loo after takeoff?"

Harry shushes her but his grin is too big to hide and she knows she's won. They may not actually get around to joining the mile high club but at least she's managed to make him forget her weird behavior for the time being. He reaches over the divide between them to lace their fingers together before he waves over a flight attendant and politely asks for two drinks.

Louis hides her smirk behind her hand as Harry charms the flight attendant who's obviously a little flustered by him. Louis can't blame her at all, some days she finds it hard to even breathe when Harry's done nothing but look at her. She avoids looking at Harry until after the flight attendant has walked away, back up the aisle to fetch their drinks, and even then she feels her cheeks flush as he meets her eyes.

"What?" he asks, smiling at her in such a way that makes it impossible for Louis not to smile in return.

"I didn't say anything," she replies.

"You look like you're about to say something."

"Shut up, this is just how my face looks." Louis sticks her tongue out at Harry and he laughs, tightening his grip on her hand so she can't pull it away. He leans over the divider between them and puckers his lips but Louis turns her head and hides her smile from him.

"C'mere," he mumbles with his lips still pursed. Louis shakes her head but she can't get much further from him than she already is which means all he has to do is lean over a little further for his lips to touch her skin. He peppers kisses all over her neck and makes his way up her jawline and onto her cheek before she turns her head and lets him kiss her properly. Their kiss goes on for a minute or so before Louis notices out of the corner of her eye that the flight attendant has returned and she quickly tries to push Harry away.

"Harry," she says, her sharp tone offset by a giggle, "pay attention, c'mon."

Louis blushes even more as Harry turns around and apologizes to the flight attendant. She expects Harry to let go of her hand to take the drinks from her but he doesn't even try to pull away. He takes them one at a time, passing Louis hers with a dazzling smile before he takes his own and thanks the flight attendant again.

Louis drinks half of hers before Harry even takes a sip of his own.

It's unnerving, the way she can't seem to control herself around him. It's unlike anything she's ever experienced before and there's a small voice in the back of her head that seems to be growing louder every day, saying _this isn't going to last so you may as well enjoy it while you can_. It's a nasty, hateful voice that Louis doesn't like one bit but she can't seem to make it go away.

"Better?" Harry asks after Louis has drained the contents of her cup. She nods, already feeling pleasantly fuzzy around the edges and this time when Harry leans over to kiss her she doesn't move a muscle apart from using her mouth to kiss him back.

She and Harry order another two drinks after takeoff and by the time she finishes the second one she's more than a little drunk and feeling quite relaxed and sleepy. The drinks don't appear to be having the same effect on Harry because he fusses over her with far more control over his limbs than Louis feels like she's capable of at the moment.

"You know what these would be good for?" she stage-whispers after Harry's lowered her seat back into a bed so she can go to sleep. She waits for Harry to look at her before she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and gives him a moment to catch her drift.

"Probably best not to set off an international incident, Lou," he murmurs back as he all but crawls over the divider between them to kiss her. "Doesn't mean I wasn't thinking the same thing, though."

"Dirty boy," Louis replies as she starts giggling. Her giggles fade into a whimper when he pulls away and sits back in his own seat, leaving Louis bereft of his touch. "Come back."

"Go to sleep, Lou," he says as he lowers his own seat. "Soon you'll wake up back in England." He stretches out one leg and nudges his foot against Louis' until she hooks hers around his ankle and hums softly.

"Not soon enough," she mumbles as she closes her eyes.

*

When Louis wakes up several hours later she notices a few things immediately: the lights have gone dim throughout the cabin, her head is pounding, and it's entirely possible that she will vomit all over herself if she doesn't make it to the loo in the next minute.

She climbs over Harry's sleeping form as carefully as she can before she sprints up the aisle and locks herself in the bathroom just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Normally Louis would never even think about touching the floor of an airplane bathroom but she's so exhausted that there's literally nothing she can do to stop herself from sitting down and resting her head on her knees.

There's no telling how long she actually spends cooped up in the tiny compartment but Louis stays mostly still until her head stops spinning and she stops gagging on nothing at all. When she finally manages to stand up again she immediately washes her hands and then splashes cold water on her face as she takes several deep breaths. She catches her reflection in the mirror and breathes out an unamused laugh.

"I fucking hate flying," she murmurs as she snatches a paper towel out of the dispenser and dries her face and hands.

She's thankful that she doesn't run into anyone waiting for the loo when she exits, not even a flight attendant hovering around the door to make sure she's alright. The last thing she needs is a witness to how poorly she handles her liquor on an empty stomach.

Louis shuffles slowly back down to her row and pauses to look down at Harry who's still sleeping soundly. Despite his absurdly long limbs he still only takes up half the space in his sleep pod because he tends to sleep on his side, which gives Louis an idea. She glances around just to make sure that there aren't any flight attendants around to scold her for lying down next to Harry and curling into his side, which is exactly what she does.

She can't stop herself from tucking her head under Harry's chin and nuzzling her nose against the strip of skin that shows in the open space of his button-up shirt, his familiar scent calming her quickly enough that if she allowed herself to stop and think about it she'd probably be embarrassed. As it stands Louis is far too tired and grumpy to think about anything other than getting a cuddle, so she all but wraps herself around Harry and closes her eyes in the hopes that she'll fall asleep soon.

Harry stirs a few minutes later, before Louis has managed to fall asleep, and he makes a soft noise of surprise when he realizes that he's not alone in his sleep pod.

"Lou?" he whispers softly. "What're you doing?"

"Sleeping," she mumbles back.

"You're gonna get us in trouble," he says, but the way he wraps his arm around her and presses a kiss to the top of her head tells a different story.

"Needed a cuddle," she says in an even softer tone, almost as though she's hoping Harry won't hear her and instead they'll both just go back to sleep.

"You okay?" Harry tries to shift so that he can look Louis in the eye, but the two of them together makes their space quite limited which means one of them would have to sit up for them to be able to look at each other properly. He settles for the position they're in and tangles their legs together as he rubs his hand up and down Louis' back in a comforting manner.

"Shouldn't have drunk so much," Louis admits. "Felt a bit sick, is all."

"Babe." Louis feels Harry frown against her hair and she presses a kiss against his chest.

"Feel better now." She slips her hand under the hem of Harry's shirt and presses her palm against his back, smiling as he does the same to her.

"Good." He hums and drags his hand up her spine and then around her side, managing to brush his fingers against her bare breast for a few seconds before she pinches him.

"Harry," she whispers harshly as he chuckles and slides his hand back down to the small of her back.

"I feel better now, too."

"Go back to sleep," Louis shakes her head a little before she adds, "dirty boy."

The next time Louis wakes up she's still curled up beside Harry and there's a blanket draped across the both of them that Louis has no idea where it came from. She's half a second away from starting to stir when she hears Harry speak and even though Louis' head is still a little fuzzy from sleep, it's clear that he isn't speaking to her.

"These aren't meant to hold two people," she hears a flight attendant say in response to whatever it is that Harry said, and Louis shuts her eyes tightly and fights to stay still enough that they won't realize she's awake.

"She's not feeling well," Harry explains as he rubs his hand against her back and Louis bites her lip to keep from making any noise. "I promise she'll go back to her own seat before landing, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd let her stay here for now."

Louis tunes out the flight attendant's response as she pulls her hand away from Harry's hip and rests it on the button of his jeans. Her fingers brush against the skin of his belly and she cracks a smile when she feels the muscles of his abs jerk under her touch. He continues talking to the flight attendant and doesn't make a move to push Louis' hand away, so Louis keeps going.

She pulls open his button and tugs down the zipper of his jeans so she can press her hand against his cock, and her smile widens when Harry presses his hips forward. He's not hard yet but she can feel him start to fatten up in her hand, especially when she switches back and forth between stroking and squeezing. She vaguely hears Harry thanking the flight attendant but her attention is only piqued when Harry's hand slips down from her back to her arse and he pulls her close enough that he traps her hand between them. Louis arches her back as an involuntary reflex and her head nearly collides with Harry's chin, somehow managing to come to a rest on his arm as he leans down to put his mouth to her ear.

"What d'you think you're doing?" he whispers as he continues gripping her arse tightly.

"'m not doing anything," she replies, grunting softly as she tries to free herself from how Harry's got her pinned. She ends up pushing her face closer to Harry's neck and sinks her teeth into his skin, smirking as he jerks his hips against her.

"I _just_ promised that flight attendant we weren't doing anything naughty," he murmurs as his hand slips into the back of Louis' joggers and palms the bare skin of her arse. "And here you are, doing something naughty."

"So're you," she says as she drags her tongue along the mark that's coming along quite nicely.

"You started it."

Louis goes to argue but Harry pushes his hand further down and slips a finger inside of her so all that comes out of her mouth is a strangled breath. She latches her mouth onto Harry's neck again and sucks hard as he sinks another finger inside of her, muffling her noises as best she can.

"Couldn't wait til we landed, could you?" he murmurs. "Had to touch my cock and get me hard, hmm?" Harry grunts softly. "Wish I could fuck you right here, bet you'd love that."

"Harry," Louis whispers needily as she pushes back against his fingers.

"I know, babe." Harry slides his fingers out for a moment so he can fit his hand down the front of Louis' joggers instead and get inside her properly while pressing the heel of his hand against her clit. "Can you be good for me? Keep quiet, don't let anyone know what I'm doing to you."

Louis whimpers softly, squeezing and tugging on Harry's cock like she's trying to pull it closer to her. Harry chuckles under his breath and slides a third finger inside of her, speeding up the pace of his hand as he fucks his fingers into her.

"You feel so good, Lou. So tight and wet for me, fuck. Wish I could be inside you."

"Me too," Louis whispers just before she lets out a whine and comes with her face buried against Harry's neck.

"God," Harry groans as he pulls his fingers out of her, "I can't wait til we land."

"Don't wanna wait," Louis says as she starts moving her hand again, picking up the pace now that she's not distracted by Harry's fingers inside of her, "wanna make you come."

"Lou, no," Harry grunts, "s-stop, we can't."

"Why not?" she challenges, not stopping even as Harry puts his hand over hers to try and make her. "You just made me come, didn't you?"

"You don't make a mess when you come," Harry says and then chuckles, "well, sometimes, anyway."

Louis stifles a moan against Harry's neck, the very idea making her wet all over again. _God_ , she's so easy for him it's unbelievable.

"Wish I could suck you," she whispers, "that would make it easy, hmm?"

"Jesus, Lou," Harry groans again. "Please, you're gonna make me come if you don't stop."

"Is anyone watching?" she asks as she rubs her thumb over the head of Harry's cock and he gasps.

"N-No, but--"

"You close?"

"Fuck, yes, you have to st--"

Louis ducks down under the blanket and makes herself as small as possible so that she can suck Harry's cock into her mouth without drawing too much attention to them. With her hand wrapped around what her mouth can't cover, it takes no more than a few seconds for Harry to come down Louis' throat. She pulls off with her mouth still full and slides back up so she's stretched out like before, smiling to herself as she curls up next to him and swallows.

Harry's trying to catch his breath quietly, his chest heaving with silent gasps as he grabs her by the hip and holds her close. Louis tugs his shirt open a little further and presses a kiss against his pec, snickering a little when he tries to close his zipper one-handed.

"Can't believe you just did that," he murmurs.

"Does that count as the mile-high club?" she asks coyly as she traces her fingers across Harry's chest. Harry grunts softly as he finally gets his jeans buttoned up properly and he slips his arm around Louis' waist again.

"Absolutely."

*

True to his word and much to Louis' dismay, Harry makes sure she's back in her own seat well before the plane lands. She frowns at him until he kisses it off of her lips, probably drawing far too much attention to themselves as the people around them begin to wake up. Louis refuses to let it bother her, feeling rather smug that they managed to get away with having sex on the plane without anybody noticing.

Harry avoids making eye contact with the flight attendants as they pass by doing their safety checks and Louis stifles her laughter behind her hand as his cheeks turn bright red.

"Shut up," he mutters.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed," Louis teases as she leans over the divide between them and pinches Harry's cheek. Harry swats at her hand and Louis giggles in return, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively when he looks at her.

"Bet you wanted them to catch us, you little minx."

Louis shrugs one shoulder and grins. "Like you wouldn't have gotten off even harder if they had."

Harry hums as he leans in for a kiss, keeping it sweet and close-mouthed.

"'m not an exhibitionist, babe."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Louis rolls her eyes. "You show off for me all the time."

"That's different," Harry mutters, trying to keep his voice low even though Louis is speaking as though they're discussing the weather or something equally innocent. "I like it when _you_ watch me."

"So do I." Louis smiles as she tugs on Harry's shirt and pulls him in for another kiss before they both have to sit back in their seats to prepare for landing.

Louis tucks herself under Harry's arm the moment they step off the plane and he kisses her as they walk even though it causes them both to stumble a little and he has to apologize to the people behind them. Louis simply laughs and hides her face against Harry's shoulder, feeling far better stepping out into the terminal at Heathrow than she had when they arrived at LAX the day before.

Unfortunately Louis' good mood only lasts until they reach baggage claim, because that's where a gaggle of paparazzi are waiting for them just outside the doors. She braces herself and thinks that maybe it won't be as bad as she's dreading, maybe they'll just take some pictures and be on their way like they did in LA. Sadly, she's mistaken.

She's practically blinded by the number of cameras flashing in her face and if it weren't for Harry's arm around her pulling her along, she would've stopped dead in her tracks when the first pap shouted at her. She hardly hears what he says but one word rings out loud and clear: Zayn. Louis doesn't plan on asking him to repeat himself because she has no intention of answering whatever question he posed, but he shouts it again in a matter of seconds.

"Louis! What do you think of Zayn's new girlfriend?"

She keeps her mouth firmly shut, unwilling to let the paparazzi get a rise out of her that'll just sell more gossip rags. Harry squeezes her waist and as a result Louis reminds herself that she doesn't have to think about Zayn anymore, she has Harry.

"Moving a bit fast, aren't you, Harry?"

"You two official or what? C'mon, Harry, give us something!"

Louis stares down at her feet as they continue walking while different paparazzi shout all manner of things at them, only feeding the paranoia that voice in the back of Louis' head thrives on. That same voice echoes in her mind, telling her this is all going to fall apart as quickly as it came together.

"C'mon guys, let us through," Harry says cordially as he gently makes the crowd part so they can reach the car that's waiting for them. He opens the door and allows Louis to climb into the backseat first as he shields her from the cameras before climbing in after her. She immediately curls into his side and lets out a deep breath, finally able to relax now that the cameras have all gone away.

Harry doesn't say a word as he wraps his arm around her and kisses the top of her head as the car starts to pull into traffic, the driver needing no directions towards Harry's flat. Louis is grateful for the silence after the din of the paparazzi and she tries to push all of the memories of their words out of her head as she concentrates on the sound of Harry's heartbeat.

About ten minutes into the drive Harry clears his throat, and when he shifts his arm around Louis she tenses and thinks _this can't be good_.

"Sorry about that," he mumbles.

"Not your fault," Louis replies as her voice cracks from lack of use. She lifts her head from where it's pressed against Harry's chest and fidgets with the hem of her sweater, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the guilt that's piling up inside of her.

"They're not usually that invasive, if you can believe it." Harry laughs dryly but Louis doesn't echo his sentiment. She's dreading what's coming next.

"It's fine," she says in a quiet voice, for lack of anything better to say. It's not fine, not at all, but the last thing she wants to do is make Harry feel guilty for something he can't control. Maybe she can convince him that it _is_ fine so she doesn't have to talk about anything, but somehow she suspects that it's not going to work out the way she wants it to.

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

The only thing Louis can manage is a soft, nervous noise that sounds more like a squeak than anything else before she ducks out from under his arm and reaches for her bag.

"What're you doing?" he asks.

"Should probably check in with my agent," she lies as she shifts one seat over and keeps her bag on her lap as she switches on her phone, avoiding looking at Harry as it turns on.

Harry sighs a little but doesn't try to get her to answer his question. Out of the corner of her eye Louis sees him turn towards the window and she bites down on her bottom lip to keep from making any other noises that will only get her into more trouble. When her screen finally lights up and notifications start pouring in, she ignores them all in favor of opening a new text to Niall.

_**got ambushed by paps at heathrow and they brought up zayn and now harry's acting all weird and wants to talk but idk what to say HELP ME HORAN THIS IS YOUR FAULT** _

Louis sighs a little as she presses send and restrains herself from turning her head to look at Harry, thankfully only having to wait a few seconds for Niall's reply

_**hows this my fault??????** _

**_YOU'RE THE ONE THAT STARTED ALL OF THIS BY SENDING ME TO HIS HOUSE_ **

**_I DIDNT TELL U TO SHAG HIM_ **

Louis huffs angrily as she taps out a reply, but ends up changing it at the last moment before she presses send because she really does need Niall's help and arguing certainly isn't going to get her anywhere.

_**focus on the point, niall - what do i tell him about zayn??** _

**_the truth?????????? justa thought_ **

**_i hate you_ **

Louis taps out of the conversation and scrolls further down in her inbox until she reaches her thread with Zayn - one she should've deleted ages ago. Against her better judgement she clicks on it and scrolls through the last few texts she sent him, all having gone unanswered. Louis shuts her eyes tightly and curses herself for feeling like she's about to cry, and when she opens them she notices that Niall's sent her another text.

_**just b honest w him lou. zayn was a twat we all kno that. harrys not like that and i kno u kno that. besides harry could totaly take zayn in a fight and id pay good money 2 see that happen so get on w it!** _

She laughs once, soft and under her breath, before sending back a quick reply - _**fuck off**_ followed by a heart emoji - and tucks her phone back into her bag. After she sets it on the floor she slowly makes her way back towards Harry, hoping that he'll put his arm around her again.

It takes all of three seconds for Harry to pull her against him, cupping her face with his other hand as he kisses her. Louis melts, just a little, and puts her hand on his wrist to keep him from pulling it away when the kiss is over.

"Everything okay?" he whispers, rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

Louis nods and kisses him again, knowing full well that everything isn't okay but she really just can't bear the thought of getting into it right now. She rests her head on his shoulder and laces their fingers together, content with staying silent for the remainder of their drive to Harry's flat.

*

The atmosphere is a bit strange when Louis steps through the front door to Harry's flat. The air inside is a bit stale as expected, but every surface is spotless as though it were cleaned earlier that day (which, for all Louis knows, is exactly what happened) and that put Louis off a bit. Perhaps it's because she's used to coming home to her own flat after time away and having it be comfortably messy, just the way she left it. Harry's flat just seems so… tidy.

She goes into the living room and stands silently as Harry and the driver carry their suitcases further into the flat, feeling anxious and out of place. There's a worry at the back of her mind that's growing larger with every passing second, it's telling her that once the driver leaves there won't be any more hiding from the conversation she's been avoiding.

Harry offers a smile as he passes, walking the driver back to the door and tipping him handsomely before closing the front door and walking back into the living room. Louis stares down at the floor as she twists the hem of her jumper around her fingers in a nervous habit as she waits for the inevitable question.

"D'you want a tour?"

Louis looks up at him and stares at him blankly for a moment, thrown off by his asking a completely different question than what she had in mind.

"Sure," she replies with a nervous laugh as she slips off her shoes and crosses the room to take Harry's outstretched hand in her own.

"Living room, obviously," he says with a soft chuckle as he motions around the room, pointing out various trinkets and photos before leading her into the kitchen.

It's not until they're touring the first bedroom that Louis gets an idea, one so simple and perfect that she's honestly disappointed in herself for not thinking of it earlier. When Harry turns his back to lead her out of the room and into another one, she quickly pulls her joggers down and leaves them in a pile before following him out. Just as she steps into the next bedroom, she pulls her jumper over her head and lets it fall to the floor which leaves her just in her knickers when Harry turns around.

"Louis… what--"

"This is nice," she says nonchalantly, purposefully ignoring the way his eyes have gone wide at the sight of her mostly naked body. "This is where Gemma stays when she visits, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah," Harry clears his throat, "yeah, Mum stays in the other one, Gemma's in here."

"So nice of you to have separate rooms for them," she continues as she walks past Harry to inspect the rest of the room. He's staring at her when she turns back around but she pretends not to notice. "Just yours left, yeah?"

Harry nods, his eyes drifting downwards as she approaches him.

"Well, c'mon then, show me."

Harry grunts softly as he turns and leads the way out of the room and down the hall with Louis smirking behind his back the entire time. She's impressed with how he's restraining himself thus far, but she knows exactly what to do to get him to crack.

Louis heads straight for the bed as soon as Harry steps out of the doorway to let her through and she sprawls across it, fussing with the pillows and messing up the duvet just like she always does. Harry watches her do this, remaining silent and still until she reaches down to pull her knickers off. He makes a soft noise of despair when she tosses them in his direction and grins widely.

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

Harry laughs as he approaches her, giving her a hungry look as he says, "wasn't sure if you were going to let me join."

Louis hums happily as he climbs on top of her and smiles as she leans up to kiss him. He groans against her mouth as she starts undoing the button and zipper of his jeans, shoving them down around his thighs just enough so she can get to his cock without too much trouble.

"Thought you wanted to fuck me in every room," she murmurs after Harry's pulled away with a moan when she wraps her hand around his cock.

"I do," he says with a grunt, turning his head towards her so he can press his mouth against her neck and suck on her skin.

"Even the bed where your mum sleeps?" Louis gasps when he bites her but it fades into a pleased moan. "What a kinky boy you are."

"Please stop talking about my mum when you're touching my cock," he begs.

"What, never had the fantasy of fucking a girl in your parents' bed?" Louis smirks and squeezes his cock on an upstroke just to hear him groan again.

"Can't say that I did," Harry replies as he rolls to one side, batting Louis' hand away so he can finish taking his jeans off properly and discard his shirt as well.

"What did you fantasize about, then?" Louis asks as she rolls onto her side facing Harry and props her head up in her hand. "C'mon, you said you'd tell me." She inches closer and puts her mouth to Harry's ear, "promised you'd get me wet, telling me all the things you wanted to do."

Harry groans a little under his breath and closes his eyes as he puts his arm on Louis' waist and pulls her closer, and it's only after he's all but hidden his face from view that she realizes something: he's _embarrassed_.

"Harry," she says as she nudges him, "Harry, c'mon, tell me."

"You'll laugh," he mumbles. Louis rolls her eyes.

"I won't."

"You will, I know you will."

"Harry, I promise, I won't laugh." She nudges him again and kisses his cheek. "C'mon, you were all ready to tell me yesterday."

"That was different," Harry says with a deep chuckle. "I was inside you, wasn't I? Would've said almost anything to keep fucking you."

Harry yelps when Louis pinches him hard and he rolls onto his back to stare at her in confusion while she sits up and crosses her arms, giving him a severely unimpressed look.

"You'd better be joking about that or I'm three seconds away from walking out of this flat."

"Naked and all?" Harry teases.

Louis huffs angrily and intends to climb off of the bed but before she can get very far Harry loops his arms around her waist and pulls her back down, practically crawling on top of her to stop her from leaving.

"'m only kidding, I promise. I'll tell you, just don't leave."

"Fine," Louis huffs, her anger already starting to fade and her arousal returning as Harry rubs his nose against her neck and sends a shiver throughout her body. "Well?"

"Alright, alright," he sighs heavily, "y'know how there are those really bad porn films - like, the _really_ cheesy ones - that start out with a bored, lonely housewife who's home alone and a repairman comes to her house and-- Louis, stop laughing!"

"I'm not!" Louis protests, although the way her whole body is shaking with silent laughter tells an entirely different story.

"See? I told you you'd laugh." Harry groans and presses his face down against his bed.

"'m sorry love, but you have one of the _tamest_ fantasies I've ever heard," she says as she pushes him onto his back and curls up against his side. "I honestly thought it'd be something far more kinky."

"Disappointed, are you?"

"No, you idiot." Louis rolls her eyes and presses her lips against his in a soft kiss. "Just not what I was expecting."

"Not as mysterious as you thought I was, hmm?" Harry asks before he starts trailing a line of kisses down Louis' neck, smiling against her skin as she lets out a giggle.

"You're hardly mysterious at all. I know just how to push your buttons." Louis smirks as she grazes her fingers across Harry's cock and his hips jerk forward. "Made you come during the flight, didn't I?"

"That you did, naughty girl." Harry groans and slides his hand down Louis' back towards her bum so he can squeeze it and pull her closer. Louis inhales sharply and lets out a soft moan as her body gets pressed up against Harry's, and as he continues to kiss her neck she decides that maybe she's going to give him what he wants.

"So what were you here to fix?" she asks coyly. Harry lifts his head and gives her a confused look.

"What?"

Louis rolls her eyes. "You said you wanted to be a repairman," she says as she pushes Harry onto his back and straddles his waist. "What were you here to fix?"

"I don't…" Harry clears his throat, "I never got that far?"

"Well, I've got some holes that need filling," Louis says, dropping her voice in a low sultry tone as she bends forward to tease her lips against Harry's chest. "Think you might have something that could do that?"

"Reckon I do," Harry answers in a strained voice. Louis grins and shivers as Harry wraps his hands around her thighs and spreads her legs even more.

"Haven't got any money," Louis whimpers softly as Harry moves one of his hands down lower and slips the tip of his finger between her folds where she's already wet, "how ever will I repay you for your service?"

"'m sure we'll figure something out," Harry grunts as he slides his finger in further and Louis cries out, closing her eyes as she clenches around his finger and sits up to push back against his hand.

"Usually it's my husband who fixes things," Louis continues, trying to keep up the fantasy even as Harry pushes another finger inside of her. "But he won't be home for ages and I need these holes filled now."

Harry laughs and Louis flushes a little, slightly mortified by her own words, but she doesn't have time to dwell on it for long because before she knows what's happening Harry is removing his fingers and flipping her onto her back. She opens her eyes again to see him smirking down at her just before his lips are on hers in a filthy kiss, his cock pressing down against her when their hips meet.

"I'll fill 'em so well, you'll call me first from now on," he breathes hotly before he slides down her body and wastes no time in putting his mouth on her. Louis gasps and writhes around underneath him but Harry holds her hips down with one hand as he shoves the same two fingers back inside of her while his tongue works against her clit, pushing Louis into sensory-overload in a matter of seconds.

"Harry," she moans desperately, whining when he lifts his head and chuckles.

"Never told you my name, love."

Louis huffs and lets her head fall back against the pillows, too turned on to want to keep up the charade any longer but she knows it'll get Harry's mouth back on her. "Sewn into your shirt, innit?"

He hums in satisfaction and licks her again, smiling against her when she moans. Louis is shaking all over and she knows her orgasm is fast approaching given the way she can't seem to keep her mouth shut even when all that's coming out is a rush of incoherent ramblings. Harry is three fingers deep when she comes screaming his name and shaking all over, and he waits until Louis is mostly still before he pulls them out.

Louis lets out a soft whimper when Harry leaves her side for a moment to grab a condom from the bedside table. If she still wanted to play along with the fantasy, she'd turn the tables around on him and ask how he knew where the condoms were. As it stands, she can hardly move so instead she keeps her mouth shut.

"That wasn't all you had for me, was it?" Harry murmurs in her ear, trailing his finger across her stomach until she slaps it away.

"S'pose I could find a few more things for you to do," she replies as she curls her fingers into his hair and holds him in place so she can kiss him. He hums into her mouth and kisses her back eagerly, pulling away a minute later so he can roll the condom onto himself.

"How's your husband do it?" Harry asks as he fits himself between her legs again. Louis feels herself blushing again; she knows he's asking what position she wants, he loves when she picks how she wants to get fucked. Louis doesn't know when _she_ started being turned on by this whole fantasy but there's something so illicit about all of this that she can't help but want more.

"Like this," she says, rolling over to get up on her hands and knees. She glances over her shoulder to watch Harry position himself behind her, rubbing his hands all over her back and hips before he starts pushing his cock into her at a slow pace.

Louis waits until he's all the way in before she pushes herself up onto her knees, pressing her back against Harry's chest as he wraps his arms around her and cups her breasts in his hands. She chose this position because Harry takes his time with her like this, dicking into her in long, slow thrusts that give her time to adjust and recover from her previous orgasm.

"Just like this?" he asks with a groan, his mouth right at Louis' ear as he tightens his grasp on her chest and makes her whine softly.

"Yeah," she moans, "that's it, Harry."

"How am I doing?" Harry grunts as Louis lets her head loll back onto his shoulder and moans again. "Better than your husband?"

" _God_ , yes," Louis cries out, "filling me up so well, fuck!"

"Told you I would," Harry mutters, rolling his hips a little faster as Louis slides one hand into his hair and grabs a hold of his thigh with the other. "Never let you be empty, if you were mine."

"Harry," Louis whimpers.

"You feel so good around me," Harry starts babbling and Louis can't quite tell if he's still in character or not. "Never wanna let you go. Not when you take my cock so nicely, hmm? Love it, don't you?"

"Yes, Harry, _yes_!" Louis sobs as she lets go of his thigh to pull one of his hands away from her breasts and push it further down. "Please, wanna come."

"Yeah, know you do. Always wanna come, always wanna make you come with my cock." Harry's starting to go breathless and he's trying to fuck her a little faster than is really possible in this position, which means he's getting close to coming too.

"C'mon, make me come. Know you can," Louis begs, moaning loudly when Harry starts rubbing his finger against her clit. It takes maybe another minute before she's clenching around him and coming again, moaning his name as she quivers against him.

It's then that she pulls away from him, propping herself up on her hands and knees so she can push back against his cock and urge him to fuck her properly like she knows he wants to. She's still feeling the effects of her orgasm when he starts thrusting into her faster, prolonging the pleasure and making her tingle all over.

"Fuck, you feel so good, Lou," Harry groans, his hands gripping her hips as he fucks into her with enough force that she falls forward onto the bed and cries out.

"God, Harry, 'm gonna come again," she moans, unsure if her orgasm even stopped before or if it simply grew more intense.

"Yeah, Lou, do it. Come again, wanna feel it."

Harry shouts as he comes and Louis all but wails into the pillow beneath her, both of them collapsing from exhaustion mere seconds later. It doesn't take long for Louis to start replaying all the things she said for the sake of the fantasy and it's quite possible she's blushing all the way down to her toes by the time she tucks her head in the crook of Harry's neck after he's disposed of the condom and pulled the comforter up and over the both of them.

"That was ridiculous," she mumbles.

"Thought you rather enjoyed it," Harry replies with a low, amused chuckle. "What with all that husband talk of yours."

"That was for _your_ fantasy, you numpty." Louis pinches Harry's nipple and huffs against his neck. "Which I hope you savored because I'm not doing that again."

"Pity," Harry hums. "Quite liked filling your holes."

Louis pinches him again, hard enough to make Harry yelp this time. He wraps his hand around her wrist and pulls her hand away from his chest and up to his mouth so he can kiss her fingertips, doing so over and over until Louis starts giggling and tugs her hand away.

"Idiot," she mutters fondly. Harry smiles and kisses her forehead as he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close.

"Fancy a nap?" he asks softly.

"Yeah, alright." Louis lets out a soft breath and closes her eyes only to open them a few seconds later. Despite how exhausted she felt just a few minutes ago, she now feels wide awake and the gears in her mind won't stop turning. A voice deep down is telling her the time is right for her to tell Harry about Zayn and she has no idea where the voice came from.

The thing is, Louis can't seem to get her mouth to work. She has so much to say and it's all just resting on the tip of her tongue, trapped behind her lips that refuse to open up and let them spill out. As a result she starts to fidget, twisting her fingers together and shifting her feet around against the sheets, until Harry groans softly.

"What're you doing?"

"Nothing," Louis squeaks. Harry groans again like he knows she's lying and he rolls onto his back so Louis can't hide her face against him anymore.

"What's wrong?" Louis gives him a put out look but it doesn't stop him from staring her down.

"Nothing's _wrong_ , why d'you think something's wrong?"

"Because you're acting weird again." Harry sighs heavily. "What's going on?"

"I…" Louis stops and sighs, dropping her eyes down to the sheets between them instead of keeping them on Harry. "I was just thinking."

Harry shifts a little on the bed and Louis assumes he's about to ask what she's thinking about so she quickly decides to just keep talking before she loses her nerve.

"I've been avoiding telling you about a few things because it felt like they didn't matter when we were in LA but now we're back in London and the paps at the airport mentioned Zayn and I just... " Louis sighs again. "I dunno what I would've done if you hadn't been there to help me keep going."

"You don't have to worry about what the paps said," Harry says as he gently strokes his fingers against Louis' cheek. "It doesn't matter."

"It does, though. A lot of people are going to be saying a lot of things about me and Zayn and… I just want you to know the truth, alright?"

"Alright," Harry answers softly.

Louis takes a moment to breathe deeply, all the while keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the bed instead of looking Harry in the eye because she doesn't have to look at him to know that he's staring at her with a sympathetic smile. It causes a warm feeling to bloom in the pit of her stomach and part of her wants to squirm away from his touch, sight, everything but she manages to stay still and strong because she _needs_ to get this out.

"I honestly don't remember the night I first met him, we were both at some party and I'd had a bit too much to drink. The only reason I know I even met him that night is because my friends took several pictures of us together so I'd believe it the next morning."

Louis pauses and groans softly as she thinks _this is already going poorly_ to herself.

"Anyway, he kept popping up at most of the same events and parties I went to, since we're in the same industry and all, and he'd say hello and I'd say hello back and we'd talk politely for a while and I'd try not to do anything stupid like I normally do." Louis laughs softly. "I honestly didn't even think he liked me at all because of how pissed I'd been that first time, but then we got booked for a couple things together and well… things changed."

"Changed how?" Harry asks.

Louis can feel herself starting to blush as she fumbles her way describing the first time they had a shoot together and how Zayn accidentally walked in on her getting changed. She sort of hates the way her heart pounds at the memory of the look on his face, the shock melting into desire that stayed in his eyes for the rest of the day. It's entirely possible that she'd shiver all over again if she closed her eyes and replayed the words he'd whispered in her ear between shots when they were pressed close together.

As difficult as it is for her to say all of this, it doesn't seem nearly as difficult for Harry to hear it. Even though Louis is trying not to look at him, out of the corner of her eye she's carefully watching for any sign of how he's taking this new information. It's impossible to tell how he feels about any of it because his face is schooled in the same curious expression that it has been since she started, which is honestly making Louis feel a little crazy.

"One thing obviously led to another and we, well, you know." Louis clears her throat. "I think we were together most every night for about a month. I, um… I thought that meant something. At the very least, I thought I was the only girl in his bed."

Louis starts fidgeting again and shies away from Harry's touch, almost feeling like she doesn't deserve to be comforted as she tells the story of how she foolishly fell for someone who didn't give a shit about her. Especially when the thought creeps into her mind that maybe Harry thinks now she's using him to get over Zayn when, despite her hesitation to admit it, it's the complete opposite.

"Next thing I know he's being papped with someone else and calling _her_ his girlfriend, and all I'm left with are unanswered texts and a stupid broken heart." Louis freezes for a moment, not having expected that last bit to come out, but quickly clears her throat and adds, "and that's when Niall told me to get the fuck out of London and, well, I did."

Louis waits for Harry to say something but she doesn't dare look at him to judge whether or not he actually will. She tugs the comforter up a little further, fighting the urge to just hide underneath it for the next few hours, days, whatever. She's in the middle of trying to plan her best escape route in case Harry continues to say absolutely nothing when he closes the space between them and holds her tightly. Louis lets out a long, shuddering breath and shuts her eyes tight enough that she can't possibly start to cry - or so she hopes.

"I'm glad you told me," he says in a soft voice, slow and clear. "Do you feel better?"

"A bit, yeah," Louis replies with a shaky laugh. She presses her face against Harry's chest and breathes deeply again as all the guilt that had built up inside of her slowly begins to crumble and disappear. She hadn't expected to feel this much relief from telling Harry about Zayn, mostly because she'd tried telling herself multiple times that it didn't matter _that_ much.

Louis has never been so happy to have been so wrong.

*

Louis does her best not to even think about Zayn in the days following her return to London. Harry proves to be an excellent distraction but the unfortunate fact that she must face is that they're both walking in the same show during Fashion Week and therefore she's going to see him, at the very least. Her mind is torn between feeling hopeful and despondent about the possibility of having to speak to him, unsure of how the conversation will go if it even happens.

Truth be told, Louis doesn't quite trust herself to not just throw a punch the moment she sees him.

The conflict in her head makes it rather difficult for Louis to concentrate properly on getting ready to head to the site where the show is being held, which means she's got about ten minutes before the car picks her up and she's only half-dressed.

"Lou, take a breath."

"I'm fine," she insists, pausing in her pacing in order to crawl back onto the bed next to Harry and curl up next to him. "Maybe I just won't go."

"You have to," he says, contradicting his words as he puts his arms around her. "You can't not go, you said this is important for your career."

"I said nothing of the sort," Louis grumbles despite the fact that she's said it no less than fifty times in the last few days. "It's just walking, dunno why we've all got to practice it. If you can't walk, you're an idiot and you should get the fuck off the runway."

"Lou," Harry admonishes, trying to hide his laughter, "don't say that."

"I would've thought you'd be begging me to stay, not trying to get me to leave." Louis huffs as she climbs on top of Harry and straddles his thighs.

"And what about when you blame _me_ for getting fired because I let you stay here in bed with me?"

"It'd be your fault, obviously I'd have to blame you."

Harry rolls his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"I am not! How dare you--"

Louis shrieks as Harry flips her over onto her back without warning and pins her against the bed, smirking at her when she objects to his methods. He leans down and kisses her until she relaxes underneath him and whines when he pulls away.

"You're going to go," he says as he moves down to kiss her neck, "and be brilliant," he switches sides and nips his teeth against her sensitive skin, "and then you're going to come back here, where I'll be waiting for you."

"Is that so?" Louis asks, aiming for haughty but her voice comes out breathless instead.

"It is," Harry replies as he presses his lips against hers, pulling back before Louis can turn it dirty. "And if you're good, I'll have a surprise for you."

"What does that mean, _if I'm good_?" Louis huffs. "How would you even know?"

"I've got my ways," Harry answers with a smirk.

Louis narrows her eyes at him but he doesn't offer any further information. They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds before she lifts her hand and pokes at his nose, sending both of them into a fit of giggles.

"Alright," she says quietly, long after their laughter has subsided. "I'll go. And be brilliant, or whatever."

"I know," Harry says, and presses a kiss to her cheek. Louis pushes him away as her cheeks turn red, and she scoots down to the foot of the bed so she can continue getting ready.

"As if we both don't know you like it more when I'm bad," Louis mutters, just loud enough for Harry to hear her. He laughs in return and she smiles to herself, caught up in the moment and for the first time that day not worrying about what could happen when she leaves Harry's flat.

She kisses Harry before she leaves, insisting that he stay in bed because the last thing they need is for him to get papped wearing only his pants. She peeks out the front window and is relieved to see the car waiting for her already, although her stomach drops when she sees a few paparazzi waiting outside as well. Louis takes a deep breath before she opens the door, trying her best to prepare herself for a quick dash and hopefully avoiding any and all commentary regarding her, Harry, or Zayn.

Her heart pounds so loudly in her ears that she doesn't hear a thing that's shouted at her and in the blink of an eye she's inside the car and releasing a breath of relief.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Louis jumps at the sound of Niall's voice, nearly braining herself on the roof of the car before she regains control of her limbs and swats Niall's arm.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she demands, confused and surprised but deep down overwhelmingly pleased to see her best friend.

"Thought you might need some support, y'know." Niall slings an arm around Louis' shoulders. "Plus there's always free food at these things."

"You're hoping to see a fight, aren't you?" Louis drawls sarcastically.

Niall ponders her statement for a moment and then shrugs with a grin spread across her face.

"Dinner and a show!"

Louis rolls her eyes but settles down in the seat curled up against Niall's side, leaning her head on Niall's shoulder.

"Thanks," she murmurs softly. "You didn't have to come."

"Wouldn't miss it," Niall replies as she puts her arms around Louis and hugs her tightly. "Sometimes you just need to know there will be at least one friendly face around."

Louis sighs heavily and shuts her eyes as she tries to will away all the worries and bad thoughts that have been crossing her mind all day. She knows Niall means well with her words but she would've preferred to just sort of ignore the potential disasters that could occur once they reach their destination. All she has to do is keep her head down (which, if she's being honest with herself, is easier said than done) and get through the next two days. If she can manage that, then perhaps she'll never have to see Zayn again and everything will be completely fine.

She turns her head and presses her face against Niall's shoulder and lets out a soft sound of distress. She hates feeling weak at any time but it's especially detrimental to her psyche when others are around to witness it, even when it's just Niall.

"It'll be okay," Niall murmurs under her breath.

Louis lets out a deep breath and nods as best she can. Maybe if she repeats the sentiment in her head enough times she'll start to believe it.

Niall takes a firm hold of her hand the moment they step out of the car and doesn't let go even when they've bypassed the hounding paparazzi and are safely hidden away from the outside world. Louis doesn't feel like she can even take a breath until she sees the runway in front of her and only then does the smallest weight lift from her chest.

"Looks alright, yeah?" Niall quips as she gives Louis' side a gentle nudge.

"Seen bigger," she murmurs, allowing herself to crack a small smile.

"Yeah, 'm sure you have." Niall rolls her eyes and squeezes Louis' hand. "C'mon, I bet they're waiting for you backstage."

Louis has long since stopped being surprised at how easily Niall seems to fit in everywhere she goes. Even if she weren't a part of the industry Louis is positive Niall would figure out some way to be right by her side and nobody would even try to kick her out. Sometimes Louis catches herself being envious of Niall's uncanny ability to make everyone half fall in love with her, even though she knows full well it's an absolutely ridiculous thing to be jealous of.

Right now, though, she'd give anything to be as carefree and happy as Niall always seems to be. Then she wouldn't have the overwhelming feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach that's making every minute spent in the same building as Zayn feel a thousand times more stressful than it needs to be.

Niall stays close to her and it takes everything in Louis not to cling to Niall's arm the moment she spots Zayn across the room. She quickly turns her head before she does anything stupid like make eye contact with him, and thanks her lucky stars that her agent is already there and waiting for her. Eleanor welcomes her with open arms, hugging her tightly before she pinches Louis' side and grins as Louis pulls away.

"What'd you do that for?"

"That's for being late." Eleanor leans in. "Three _weeks_ late."

Louis looks down at her feet and flushes deeply. "I told you, I was--"

"Busy. Uh-huh, I remember." Louis looks up to see Eleanor still grinning at her. She looks to Niall for a bit of sympathy, realizing immediately that she should've known better because Niall is looking at her with the same grin.

"You're both terrible," Louis decides. "Besides, you should be blaming Niall, she's the one who sent me to LA in the first place."

"She's not the one who made you _stay_ ," Eleanor says, nudging Louis with her elbow. Before Louis can reply with something snarky, Eleanor speaks again. "Now go on, they're waiting for you to do a few last minute fittings."

"Yeah, put her to work!" Niall laughs as she hooks her arm through Eleanor's as they watch Louis reluctantly walk towards the gaggle of designers. As unimpressed as Louis tries to be, it doesn't last long because she's always loved this part of her job.

It's easy for Louis to get lost in the midst of different outfits and forget about her worries for a while. She almost manages to forget about Zayn entirely. That is, until she's asked to group up with the other models in the show so they can all go over some last-minute details and he ends up standing right next her.

She doesn't even see him coming, doesn't even know he's near until it's too late. The scent of his cologne washes over her in-between one second and the next; the smell alone sets her teeth on edge and her back goes rigid without her even having to think about it. She's waiting for him to say something to her, for him to make a joke like he used to. It's part of his charm, half the reason why Louis fell for him in the first place, his sense of humor.

After a while, Louis can't take it anymore. She chances looking at him first, just a quick glance to the side just to see if he still looks the same. He's not looking at her, he's not even turned towards her. She stares for a beat too long and he catches her watching. He doesn't smile, doesn't wink, there's hardly a trace of recognition on his face before Louis turns away and exhales sharply.

 _It's nothing_ , she tells herself, _it doesn't matter_. Louis shouldn't be put off by Zayn not bothering her. If anything she should be happy that he's not talking to her because it means she doesn't have to talk to him, either.

Even so, Louis wants nothing more than to leave right then and there. She's one second away from walking out and not looking back, hardly paying attention to what she's supposed to be listening to, but then she catches Niall's eye from across the room. Niall's standing with Eleanor next to a table full of food, and even though she was caught up in conversation she still seems to know that Louis needed a little reassurance just at that moment. She gives Louis a thumbs up and miraculously it makes Louis feel better. It gives Louis the boost she needs to remember why she's here in the first place.

She doesn't let herself spare another thought to Zayn as she walks the runway, pretending that it's the real thing and not just a practice run. She stares straight ahead when she passes by Zayn when she's backstage, not letting her eyes wander to him so he doesn't get any wrong ideas. All Louis has to do is get through the next day and a half and then she never has to see him again.

It's what Louis keeps repeating to herself long after the runthrough is finished and she's busy hanging up the clothes she'll be wearing tomorrow. She takes extra care with each garment, even though she hasn't put on her own clothes just yet so she's standing in just her knickers as she does so. She doesn't have to worry about anyone seeing her like this given that most of the other models have already left and she's behind a makeshift curtain, so she allows herself to take all the time she desires.

She's managed to push Zayn so far out of her head that when she hears the curtain get pulled back she naturally assumes it's Niall come to collect her. Louis doesn't turn around at first, continuing to put away the last of her clothes before she even deigns to speak.

"Come to hurry me along, have you--" Louis turns and immediately stops speaking when she sees it's not Niall standing there looking at her but Zayn. She stares for a good fifteen seconds before she remembers that she's not wearing anything but a pair of knickers and she quickly grab something to cover herself up.

"C'mon," Zayn says with a low chuckle, "not like I haven't seen it all before."

Louis huffs as she turns around and quickly starts pulling on her clothes. She can feel her cheeks burning and she absolutely hates that she let herself fall into this trap. She has no one to blame but herself for thinking Zayn wouldn't try to approach her and not leaving as quickly as she could.

"Well, you don't get to see it now, do you?" Louis snaps, barely turning her head to say this over her shoulder.

"Why's that, Lou?"

Louis grits her teeth and steels herself, not willing to give in to his taunt.

"You know why," she says as she turns around, intending to leave without saying another word. Zayn's closer than he was before when she does turn, and it startles her enough to keep her in place long enough for him to get in one last comment.

"What, your new guy's not into sharing?" he asks, reaching out to brush his fingers against Louis' cheek. "That's not what I've heard," he adds with a smirk.

Louis immediately pushes his arm away, glaring at Zayn before she pushes past him and walks away as quickly as she can. She finds Niall waiting close to the exit at the front and she's thankful that Niall doesn't ask her any questions until they're safely tucked away in a car headed back to Harry's flat.

"Hey, Lou, d'you think--"

"Does Harry sleep around?" Louis blurts out, catching both herself and Niall off-guard.

"What?" Niall laughs. "I don't… _what_?"

"It's a simple question, Niall." Louis huffs. "Does he?"

"Why are you asking me? What brought this on?"

"It's nothing," Louis says as she turns towards the window. "Just… something someone said."

Louis hears the creak of the leather seats before she feels Niall at her side and she carefully takes Louis' hand in her own.

"I'm assuming this _someone_ was Zayn?" Louis still doesn't turn her head but she nods once, quickly to get it over with. "You can't let him do this to you, Lou. You can't let him get inside your head."

"So it's not true?" Louis asks quietly.

"Harry's not an arsehole," Niall tells her. "Unlike some people."

"Niall--"

"He likes you, Lou. And you like him, I know you do. Why are you trying to find reasons to break up with him?"

"Break up--" Louis laughs. "We're not together, Niall, it's not that serious."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because it's _not_ ," Louis says with another huff. "It's just sex, innit? I don't…" Louis' voice catches and she shakes her head. "Serious relationships are about more than just sex, aren't they? Isn't sex the first thing to go when you get into a proper relationship?"

Niall bursts into laughter and Louis glares at her, assuming that Niall's laughing at _her_ and not because what she said was entirely ridiculous.

"What are you on about?" Niall shakes her head. "Me and Brez still can't keep our hands off each other, and we've been together for how long now?"

"That's different--" Louis protests.

"How? What makes me and Brez any different from you and Harry?"

"How is what I'm doing with Harry any different than what I was doing with Zayn?" Louis says in a rush, just barely avoiding tripping over her words in her hurry to get them out.

"Louis," Niall says in a soft, sad tone.

"That's all we had, wasn't it?" Louis shakes her head. "It was just sex, otherwise he wouldn't have--" Louis' breath catches and she clears her throat. "He found someone else he wanted for more than just sex. I'm not stupid, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that Harry won't do the same."

"Jesus, Louis. Can't you see how thick you're being?" Niall pulls Louis away from the window and into her arms for a hug. "I don't know how you managed to convince yourself that serious relationships make you turn into 80-year-olds who can't get it up to have sex, but--"

"That's not--"

"It's ridiculous. And entirely untrue." Niall hugs her tighter. "If you want a relationship with Harry, then you should tell him that."

"Why would I do that?" Louis mumbles. "It'd just ruin everything."

"You don't know that. For all you know, Harry's already thinking you two are in a proper relationship."

"He doesn't."

"You don't know that," Niall repeats.

"Niall--"

"I'd love to continue talking about how you're a stubborn idiot, really, I would," Niall says as the car slows to a stop and she reaches across Louis to unlatch the door. "But we're here, and you've got more important things to talk about with Harry."

Louis grimaces. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, Louis, you do."

"You're not coming in?" Louis frowns harder.

"Nope," Niall says with a shake of her head. "You're not using me as a distraction, I know you."

"Fine," Louis huffs. "Bitch."

"Love you too, Lou." Niall kisses her temple. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah," Louis answers as she hugs Niall for a bit longer than really necessary, still trying to avoid the inevitable.

She's thankful that there aren't any paparazzi this time around, making it far easier for her to slip inside the front door to Harry's flat without getting frazzled, feeling even more thankful that he'd left it open for her so she wouldn't have to wait on the steps for him to let her in. Harry calls out her name after she shuts the door behind her and she answers as best she can while trying to work up the courage to have the conversation she's already dreading.

"How was it?" Harry asks, appearing rather suddenly before her with a smile on his face. It falters when he looks at her, as she's having trouble keeping her feelings from showing through. "Are you alright?"

"It was fine," she replies, avoiding Harry's eyes. "Just, um, it was a bit harder than I thought it'd be. Seeing Zayn."

Harry encircles his arms around Louis and waits for her to fall into him rather than pulling her by force, and she presses her face against his chest and breathes out a heavy breath.

"Did you talk to him?" he asks quietly.

"A little," Louis sniffles, "didn't want to, really."

"I can imagine," Harry says as he starts rubbing her back. He waits a moment before he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "He had no right to upset you."

"He just…" Louis sighs. "He was just being himself. Trying to get a rise out of me." Louis tilts her head back to look up at Harry and lifts her hand to press her palm against his cheek. "He said you--"

"It doesn't matter what he said," Harry interrupts gently. He turns his face to press a kiss against the center of Louis' palm. "Whatever it was, it was out of jealousy and only meant to hurt you."

"You can't possibly know--"

"I know that he's the one who pushed you away, and now it seems like he's trying to pull you back in." Harry tightens his arms around Louis' waist and leans in close enough that their noses brush together. "But he can't have you."

Louis' eyes flutter shut as Harry kisses her and she feels her heart swell up inside her chest.

"He can't?" she asks when he pulls away. Harry smiles.

"Nope. You're all mine."

What Niall said earlier flashes in Louis' mind - _for all you know, Harry's already thinking you're in a proper relationship_ \- and Louis' heart skips a beat. This is probably the perfect opportunity for Louis to ask just what exactly they are to each other but she's still too afraid that she's reading into things too much and she'll only end up disappointed. So instead, she changes the subject.

"Didn't you promise me a surprise if I was good?" she asks as she loops her arms around Harry's neck, smiling sweetly at him even as her heart continues to race.

"Hmm, I did, didn't I?" Harry hums. "Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't ready yet?"

Louis huffs and starts to pout, sticking out her bottom lip for barely a few seconds before Harry's kissing it away, already laughing against her mouth.

"How about if I give you something else, to tide you over?"

"Like what?"

Louis punctuates her last word with a shriek as Harry suddenly lifts her up into his arms, carrying her through his flat to his bedroom so he can lay her down gently in the middle of his bed.

"I've got legs, y'know," Louis says, smiling as Harry kisses her. "Could've walked in here on my own."

"Is that right?" Harry replies with a grin. "Let's see these legs of yours."

Louis starts giggling as Harry unbuttons her jeans and pulls them down, tossing them onto the floor once her legs are bare. He runs his hands over her bare skin with such care that goosebumps spring up in their wake and Louis shivers. Harry looks at her face, smiling when their eyes meet.

"Beautiful," he says softly.

"Harry," Louis whispers, barely a breath.

"Think you've got a bit more to show me, yeah?" he asks as his fingers tease the skin under the hem of Louis' jumper. Louis nods, her throat feeling tight as she lifts her torso up and away from the bed so he can pull the fabric over her head.

For a split second the memory of the way Zayn looked at her flashes in Louis' mind and she feels the urge to cover herself all over again. She glances at Harry's face, half-expecting to see the same look that Zayn had on his face when he stared at her earlier, and is met with a look of admiration that would've knocked her off her feet had she been standing.

Harry touches her so carefully that it's almost as though he's worried she'll break if he makes one wrong move. Louis stifles a whine, biting down hard on her bottom lip as Harry traces his fingers down the valley between her breasts. He leans down to press his mouth against hers, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and soothing it with his tongue. Louis whimpers against his mouth as he grips her hip with one hand, pulling away from her mouth to start kissing her neck and Louis gasps for breath.

"Harry," she groans. He doesn't answer, he just keeps kissing her neck. Louis has to shy away from him when he starts paying attention to one spot in particular and it starts feeling like he may leave a mark, and he hums sadly.

"Come back here," he says, nuzzling his nose against her ear.

"No marks," Louis manages to say in a steady voice. "The show's tomorrow, you can't--"

"I know," Harry grunts, his hand on her hip gripping her tightly for a few seconds. "Wish I could, though."

Louis shuts her eyes and imagines what would happen if she showed up with Harry's lovebites all over her body. It'd take ages for makeup to cover them all, but it'd be worth it to see the look on Zayn's face when he finally realizes that she's not his to play with anymore.

"I know," Louis murmurs, gasping when Harry slides down and puts his mouth on her breast. "God," she whispers, "me too."

"Yeah?" Harry breathes out as he teases his tongue against her nipple. "Want me to mark you up?"

"Yeah," Louis answers, her breath coming out in harsh pants as Harry continues to tease her.

"So do I." Harry groans against her. "Want you to ache from my mouth, babe. Wanna give you something to show off, make everyone jealous."

"Harry," Louis whines, putting her hand on the back of his neck and pulling him back up when he starts to wander lower. She doesn't give him a chance to question her before she's kissing him, deep and needy. Louis tangles both of her hands in his hair as she presses her body against his, giving him something to grind his hips against even though he's still fully clothed.

"Louis," he breathes out, "wanna make you feel good."

She groans as she starts tugging at his shirt, trying to undo the buttons and continue kissing him at the same time. She doesn't want to stop kissing him.

"Get--" Louis huffs, giving up on his shirt and going for his jeans. "Off, Harry, _off_."

Harry chuckles as he rolls onto his back, Louis following to try and keep kissing him as he unbuttons his jeans and pushes them down. By the time he climbs back on top of her and pins her down against the bed, there's nothing separating the two of them apart from the thin lace of Louis' knickers.

"This what you wanted, babe?" Harry asks as he rocks his hips down against hers, making Louis groan as his cock rubs against her. She spreads her legs and wraps them around his waist, trying to get as close as she can to him.

"Yes," she moans. Harry slides his hand down her knickers, squeezing her arse before he starts to pull them down. Louis flushes a little as he pulls them away from where she's slick, practically dripping with how much she wants him.

"God," Harry whispers, his voice just shy of cracking. " _Louis_."

It startles Louis when Harry's hand suddenly slams against the bedside table in his fumbling effort to grab a condom. She giggles underneath him and he huffs out a laugh against her neck, groaning as he tries to get what they need without pulling away from Louis. It gives Louis a minute to breathe and try to get a hold of herself, because up until that moment she was seconds away from begging him to fuck her without a condom. She hides her face against Harry's neck and tries to steady her breathing and _not_ dwell on the fact that she definitely shouldn't be thinking things like that, let alone almost asking for it.

Harry sits up, pulling himself out of Louis' arms so he can get her knickers off the rest of the way and roll the condom onto himself. His eyes dart back and forth between what he's doing and Louis, and every time their eyes meet the smile on his face gets a little bigger.

"What?" Louis asks with a laugh just before Harry leans back down and kisses her.

"Beautiful," he answers. Louis laughs again and hides her face for a split second out of embarrassment, but she finds herself turning back to him because she can't bear to look away for too long.

"Kiss me," she whispers.

Harry obliges, kissing her like it's the last thing he'll ever do. They spend so long kissing that Louis nearly forgets that they're naked at all, too lost in the feeling of Harry's mouth on hers to care about anything else in the world. She's reminded a few minutes later when Harry's hips press down into hers and she feels his cock slide against where she's wet and ready for him.

"Fuck," Harry breathes out as he moves his hips again, rubbing his cock against her. "Lou, I--"

"Yeah," Louis groans. "Harry, do it, please."

Harry moans and kisses her sloppily as he pushes his cock into her, the both of them shaking as he slides inside until their hips meet. Harry laughs as he drops his head into the crook of her neck, moving his hips in tiny circles like he can't help it.

"Fuck," he says again, "you feel s-so… god, _Lou_."

"Kiss me," she begs, pulling his hair until he lifts his head and presses his mouth to hers, all tongue and teeth as he starts moving his hips with intent. Louis groans and whimpers into his mouth as he moves, fucking into her with deep strokes that make her quiver.

Harry starts to move a little faster as he shifts his hips so he rubs against Louis' clit with every thrust, trying to keep them pressed against each other as close as he can get. He's got one hand on her knee, spreading her legs as wide as they'll go, and the other's under her head tangled in her hair. Louis clings to him, her hands switching between roaming across his back and pulling his hair when he hits a spot that feels particularly incredible.

She wants to keep kissing him but it's getting harder as he keeps fucking these noises out of her that she can't keep inside. It started with small moans here and there but now she gasps and cries out with every thrust, most of it's unintelligible but occasionally she'll say something that Harry can actually understand and it just makes him want to do it all over again.

"Yeah, Louis," he grunts, pulling away from her mouth to duck his head down so he can whisper directly into her ear. "Tell me."

"Harry," Louis gasps, "what--" She cuts off with a whine that makes her dig her nails into Harry's back. "I… _god_ , Harry."

"That's it," Harry groans, "fuck, tell me. Wanna hear you, love hearing you scream for me."

"Shit," she whimpers, "shit, Harry, I… fuck. Wan-wanna come. God, wanna come so bad."

"God, yes," Harry moans and he starts fucking her even faster. She whimpers and gasps with every thrust, spurring Harry on even further. "Come for me babe, lemme hear you come."

"Yes, yes, oh god, Harry, I--" Louis whines high in the back of her throat. "G-Gonna, fuck, Harry, 'm gonna…"

Harry's encouragement is drowned out by Louis screaming as she comes, the outburst followed by a litany of words that fall from her mouth without her even realizing what she's saying. Harry keeps going, prolonging her orgasm for as long as she can stand it.

"Can you keep going?" he asks, panting as he mouths at her neck. "Keep coming for me, Lou, please."

"Yes," she cries, "god, Harry, feels so good, feels so--" She screams again, every inch of her body overwhelmed from the sensation of coming and Harry continuing without giving her any time to recover. They've never done this before, usually he'll give her a minute or two to recover after one orgasm but he's relentless with his pace like he doesn't want her to stop feeling good even for a second.

It's too much, she feels like she's going to fall apart, but she doesn't tell him to stop. She doesn't want him to stop. If he can't leave the marks he wants to with his mouth then she wants him to make her his in any way that he can, ruin her for anyone else.

"Shit, Lou, I'm close. Fuck," Harry groans, "can you come again? Please, wanna feel you come."

"Harry," Louis moans, breathless. She's shaking all over and she feels dizzy like she's been spinning in circles for hours. She can't tell if her orgasm even stopped because she feels everything so much that even one puff of Harry's breath on her skin makes her fall apart all over again.

"C'mon, Lou," he pleads as he dicks into her with everything he's got. "Come for me, please."

Louis cries out his name as his hips still against her and he comes. Louis feels it more than she ever has before and she comes again, this orgasm hitting her even harder than the first did. She's absolutely boneless by the time Harry pulls out of her, it's honestly a wonder she can even remember to breathe.

"Harry," she whispers weakly, trying to reach out to him as he disposes of the condom. He presses against her side, pulling her into his arms when she can't move to do it herself. He chuckles softly and rubs his thumb against the bow of her cheek, smiling at her as she blinks tiredly.

"Beautiful," he murmurs. Louis cracks a smile and curls her body against his as best she can, tilting her head back so she can look at him.

"Kiss me."

*

Louis' alarm goes off so early the next morning that it feels as though she only _just_ went to sleep. It doesn't help that she and Harry stayed up a little too late even though Louis knew she had an extremely early morning, but she just couldn't say no once he started kissing her. If anything it makes waking up even harder because she has to leave Harry alone in the bed while she does her best not to wake him up too.

She leaves the ensuite door open a crack after taking a quick shower to give herself some light without turning on anything that could disturb Harry but she still ends up tripping over a pair of her shoes and causing a bit of a ruckus. Louis freezes on instinct and looks over towards the bed in the hopes that Harry hadn't heard, only the bed's empty.

"Harry?" Louis says as she glances around the room, "Harry, I swear, if you're hiding I'll--"

The whistle of a tea kettle catches Louis' attention and she ventures out of the bedroom, dragging her fingers along the hallway wall so she doesn't stumble in the darkness, and finds Harry standing in the kitchen stirring a cup of tea.

"Harry," she says softly, catching his attention and he turns around. "Why are you up?"

He smiles, picking up the cup and crossing the floor to hand it to her. "Wanted to make you tea."

"You--" Harry kisses her and Louis sighs against his mouth, "didn't have to," she finishes, much softer than before.

Harry's eyes drop down to Louis' body, covered only by one of his towels, and he's got a smirk by the time he looks into her eyes again.

"Going out like that, are you?"

"Don't start," Louis replies, knowing full well what that smirk on Harry's face means. She turns around and heads back towards the bedroom with Harry right behind her. After taking a large sip of her tea, she sets her mug down and Harry tugs at the hem of her towel as he passes.

"I wasn't starting anything," Harry says, dodging Louis swatting at him as he climbs back into bed and switches on the lamp sitting on the bedside table.

"Don't--" Louis huffs, rolling her eyes at Harry as she turns her back on him and drops the towel so she can start getting dressed. "You should be sleeping."

"And miss this?" Louis glances over her shoulder to see Harry smirking at her.

"Stop it," Louis says as she pulls a jumper over her head. "You're being ridiculous."

"Am I?" Harry slips out of bed and approaches her, managing to catch her in his arms before she can get away. "Didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye."

"Ridiculous," Louis murmurs, smiling when Harry leans down to kiss her again. "I don't know when I'll be back, what with the thing after, and--"

Harry shushes her gently. "You'll be wonderful," he says, kissing her, "and I'll see you sooner than you think."

"What?" Louis asks. Harry drops his arms from around her and heads back to the bed, giving her a smile as he slides under the covers and shuts off the light. "Harry."

"You're going to be late," he sing-songs.

Louis sighs but she can't stick around to argue. There's a car coming to pick her up at any moment and she's still got to gather her things. What she wants to do is crawl back into bed and coerce Harry into telling her just what the hell he means but that would definitely make her late.

So instead, she grabs her bag and slips on her shoes and then goes to wait by the door for the car. She might spend the five minutes it takes for the car to show up thinking about what Harry could've possibly meant, and she very well might spend the entire car ride wondering what he might be planning, but at least she's alone so nobody has to know.

It distracts her enough that she doesn't remember to be nervous about seeing Zayn again until she gets to the venue and actually _sees_ him. He's standing with another model, a girl Louis remembers seeing yesterday that looks vaguely familiar to her, and Louis is just unlucky enough to catch him stroking his fingers against her cheek just like he did with her the day before.

Louis takes a deep breath and walks past the two of them without a second glance, getting as far away as she can while still being in the same building. Despite it being just past six in the morning she texts Niall, mostly to give her something to do that isn't getting stuck in her own head. She doesn't even know what to say but she just needs a distraction.

_**niall wake up and come remind me that murder is wrong** _

By the time Niall responds Louis is in the middle of getting her makeup done and had nearly given up hope of getting a text back before noon.

_**WHAT DID HARRY DO** _

Louis just barely misses fucking up her makeup artist's handiwork because she's laughing so hard at Niall's reply. After apologizing and swearing she won't do it again, which the artist knows is a complete lie so she just rolls her eyes, Louis texts Niall back.

_**shut up it wasn't harry he made me tea this morning bc he's perfect and i don't deserve him** _

Louis figures Niall is awake now because her next reply comes within a matter of seconds.

_**did u have The Talk???? n who r u murdering is it zayn pls tell me its zayn i wanna watch** _

**_also brez says he'll help if u need it_ **

Louis snickers, careful not to jostle the makeup artist this time, and texts back _**no talk yes zayn and tell brez thanks. see you soon?**_

_**sooner than u think!** _

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Louis groans.

She ends up spending the next few hours keeping as busy as she can until the start of the show, carefully avoiding being left alone with Zayn by conveniently always being on the opposite side of a room from him. It's harder than she thought it would be to keep her eyes off of him; somewhere deep inside of herself there's still that pull that makes her want to check and see if he's looking at her. After the fourth time she catches herself looking in his direction only to see him looking somewhere else, she finds herself wishing Harry was here. She knows that if he were, there's no way she'd spend even one second looking for Zayn.

Somehow just thinking about Harry changes her whole demeanor and instead of sneaking glances at Zayn and frowning, Louis finds herself smiling and getting a little lost in her own thoughts. She still can't believe he got up so early just to make her some tea, and _oh fuck_!

Louis cringes and giggles to herself when she realizes she left her cup of tea on the floor of the bedroom, barely half-drunk. She'd been so distracted by Harry being Harry that she completely forgot about her tea. She slips away from the other models to get back to where she'd left her things and sits down as she pulls out her phone.

_**sorry i left the tea on the floor :( i would've finished it had someone not distracted me…** _

She's still giggling to herself when Harry replies but she's distracted by a figure appearing behind her, Zayn's face reflected in the mirror in front of her. Louis glances up for half a second before she pointedly ignores him and goes back to her phone.

"Looking good, Lou." Zayn chuckles as he leans down and Louis shifts away from him. "Though, uhh, I think I liked yesterday's outfit more."

Louis immediately gets up from the chair and walks away, she can't stand to give him even one more second of attention.

It doesn't make _sense_. He's been ignoring her all day and when she decides to text Harry suddenly he decides it's time for him to make some absurd comment? Louis huffs as she situates herself amongst the thrall of people running around backstage doing last-minute tasks. She doesn't let herself get engrossed in her phone again for fear that Zayn will corner her a second time, and instead of texting Harry back she reopens her thread with Niall.

_**zayns been ignoring me for hours and now hes decided he wants to talk to me??? wtf why cant he just take a fucking hint?????** _

She can't really sit around and wait for Niall to text back because the show's due to start soon and she needs to get changed into the first outfit. She's annoyed that she let Zayn chase her away because now she has to go back and put her phone away and just hope against hope that Zayn's moved on. She lets out a relieved breath when she doesn't spot him anywhere near her stuff and she tucks her phone back into her bag before she heads for the racks of clothing.

Louis pushes thoughts of Zayn out of her mind as she gets dressed, choosing to think about Harry instead. She wonders what he's doing, whether he's gotten out of bed yet. He didn't tell her if he was doing anything important today so her money's on him still being tucked under the covers. She smiles to himself as she imagines her coming home to him in bed, but she stops herself from going much further after calling Harry's flat _home_ in her head and she exhales sharply.

"Focus," she mutters. She doesn't have time to get caught up in fantasy, she's got a job to do.

She's the first model to walk in the show, a rather prestigious honor that she's still not entirely sure how she managed to get. Regardless of whether or not she feels like she really deserves it, a sense of pride washes over her as she steps up to the front of the line, waiting for her cue to start the show.

The lights go down and the music starts, and after a few seconds Louis gets the signal to step out onto the catwalk. She holds her head high as she walks, keeping her face blank as best she can. It all nearly goes tits up when she suddenly spots Niall sitting in the front row on her right with Harry sitting next to her, both of them beaming up at her as she passes by.

Louis inhales sharply as she gets to the end of the catwalk and poses, pretending like she doesn't hear Niall's loud whistle for fear that she'll start grinning. She tries not to look at Harry as she walks back down the runway, but her eyes are drawn to his brilliant smile and she feels her knees go weak as she steps backstage.

If not for the rush of people around her, hurrying to get her into her next outfit, she might've collapsed into a fit of giggles.

It's even harder for her not to smile at Harry when she takes the runway for the second time. He doesn't take his eyes off of her as she walks by, not even when another model passes between them. He's a ridiculous distraction and Louis finds herself smiling like an idiot as soon as she's out of sight. She should've expected this, should've _known_ that he'd show up here. He probably didn't even have to try very hard to get a front row seat, the bastard.

She manages to keep herself together at the end of the show for the women's collection, even though Harry's up on his feet for a standing ovation with everyone else with his eyes fixed solely on Louis. He winks at her and she steels her jaw, not letting herself smile at him because she's a _professional_ , dammit.

Once she and the rest of the female models are backstage, giving way to the male models who are up next, she's caught up in a gaggle of questions from her fellow models as they gush about her and Harry. She can't hide the smile any longer but she does her best to brush off most of their prying questions as she makes her way across the room towards where she left her bag. She pulls out her phone, intending to text Harry about how absolutely ridiculous he is, when she sees that she's got several notifications that distract her enough to keep her from texting Harry.

Niall's texted her fourteen times in a row, the first of which was sent maybe fifteen minutes before the show began. Louis scrolls up to read it, snorting in a very unladylike manner when she sees that it's a reply to her text from over an hour ago.

_**didja tell him to fuck off????** _

"Wish I had," Louis mumbles to herself as she scrolls down to read Niall's next text, assuming it'll be further threats against Zayn. Her eyes widen when she reads it, turning out to be not what she thought at all.

_**lolololol omg louis harry's being interviewed!!!** _

**_this is too fuckin good haha jfc the interviewer looks fuckin starstruck_ **

**_dont worry ill protect ur man, i can take her no prob_ **

**_OMG THEYRE TALKING ABOUT U!!!!!!_ **

**_SHE LITRALLY JUST ASKED IF HES HERE TO SEE ANYONE SPECIAL_ **

**_FUCKING OMG SHE FUCKIN KNOWS GOD LOU IF U COULD SEE HER SMILE SHE FUCKIN KNOWS!!!!!!!!_ **

**_omg harrys blushing what an idiot_ **

**_louis srsly how can u think he's not mad about u he's trippin over his words n everyting_ **

**_LOLOLOL SHE JUST CALLED U HIS GF AND HES NOT DENYINGIT_ **

**_HES FULL ON GUSHING ABOUT U OMG LOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ **

**_fuck i wish u could see this its fuckin amazing_ **

**_ur boyfriend is an idiot_ **

**_u guys are fuckin made for each other i cant even_ **

Louis can hardly believe what she's just read, but her confusion doesn't stop her from immediately texting Niall and hoping that she'll answer quickly.

_**WHAT FUCKING INTERVIEW WAS THIS WHY DID HE GET INTERVIEWED WTF NIALL** _

She takes a breath and then adds, _**also punch him for me bc he was fuckin distracting**_

_**lol will do when he comes back. and here, watch it yourself :)** _

Niall includes a link at the end of her text and Louis quickly clicks on it, opening up a browser window on her phone to reveal the website for the Daily Mail and Louis groans. Of course they were the ones to prod Harry for gossip, nobody should be surprised at that.

Louis doesn't pay attention to the introduction that the interviewer gives but doesn't try to skip over it for fear of missing the start of Harry's interview. Her ears perk up when she hears Harry being introduced and she turns up the volume on her phone as loud as it will go, feeling herself blush when he appears on the small screen.

"How are you, Harry? Been a while."

"Good, yeah, " Harry laughs, "has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Good to see you, as always. You excited about the show?"

"Of course, I've heard incredible things about the line so I'm really looking forward to seeing it all."

"Scouting new pieces to add to your collection?"

"Something like that." Harry grins and Louis presses her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"So, Harry, I have to ask: are you here to see anyone special?"

Harry chuckles and ducks his head, doing a very poor job to hide his grin. "What, um," Harry clears his throat, "what makes you ask that?"

"Well, there's been a few rumors going around about you and a model in this very show, Louis Tomlinson? Some say she's your girlfriend."

"Is that what they say?" Harry's full on smirking now and Louis wishes she could kiss the smirk right off his face.

"That's what they say." The interviewer laughs. "What do you say?"

"Louis is incredible. She's a lovely person and very talented," Harry clears his throat again and Louis has to squint at the screen of her phone to catch the flush in his cheeks, "and obviously this is a huge opportunity for her and I'm happy to be here to support her, y'know? Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Louis sets her phone down and buries her face in her hands, no longer caring if she misses the rest of the interview because she can't bear to look at it for another second. She's so embarrassingly fond of Harry and his ridiculous smile and absurd ramblings, she can hardly stand it.

"Hello, beautiful."

Louis uncovers her eyes to see Harry reflected in the mirror in front of her and she gets up to throw herself into his arms, kissing him before either of them say another word. He hums against her mouth, smiling into their kiss as he holds her tightly.

"You're such an idiot," Louis tells him after kissing him thoroughly. There's smudges of lipstick all across his mouth and she knows she'll be told off for messing up her makeup before the finale but she can't find it in herself to care.

"Why am I an idiot this time?" he asks, sounding amused rather than suspicious.

"You know why," Louis replies. "All those things you said, and your ridiculous smile when I was walking."

"My smile is not _ridiculous_ ," Harry protests, still smiling.

"Is too. You were trying to get me to break, admit it."

"Was not," Harry winces and laughs as Louis jabs him in the ribs. "If anything it was your fault."

"Oh really?" Louis snickers. "Why's that?"

"Because I can't look at you and not smile," Harry says, leaning in to rub his nose against Louis' and press a kiss against her lips. "That's why."

"Idiot," she mumbles. "How'd you even get back here? Shouldn't you be out watching the rest of the show?"

"Probably," Harry admits. "But I wanted a kiss."

"Well, you've had your kiss." Louis tries pulling herself out of Harry's arms. "Go on, now."

Harry pouts. "One more?"

Louis stares at him for a moment with a fond smile, knowing full well that one more never means just one more with Harry. "One more," she says.

Harry grins, bringing his hands up to hold Louis' face gently as he kisses her. It lasts far longer than just one kiss, exactly as Louis had known it would, but she doesn't pull away. Harry breathes out a laugh, pecking one last kiss against her lips before he takes a step back.

"See you later?" he asks, his thumb dragging across her bottom lip. Louis resists the urge to wrap her lips around it, settling for kissing the pad of his thumb before she pulls his hands away from her face.

"Sooner than you think," she replies as she winks at him. He smiles wide and laughs brightly before he turns around, heading back the way he came. She watches him go, laughing when he blows one last kiss to her before disappearing.

She didn't bother mentioning that he has her lipstick all over his mouth. She turns around to inspect her own face, laughing softly when she sees that her lips are nearly bare, having lost most of the color to Harry's.

She gets a text from Niall while she's reapplying her lipstick that almost makes her drop the tube because she's laughing too hard.

_**try a lighter shade next time lou jfc haz looks like a right trollop** _

Louis feels like she's on cloud nine all the way through the finale of the show knowing Harry's back in the front row. It's easy for her to not even look at Zayn as they accompany the designer down the catwalk amidst a thunderous round of applause. This time around she doesn't even try to keep her eyes off of Harry and it's even harder not to break out in a ridiculous grin.

If she's being honest with herself all she wants to do is jump down from the catwalk and rush into Harry's arms but that would be extremely unprofessional. And probably set off a scandal the likes of which Louis is certainly not ready for. So instead she stands tall and claps along with the crowd, allowing herself to smile just enough.

The problem is her work isn't over once the show is over. She and Zayn both are expected to stick around for some more promotional shots with the designer as well as a Q&A. She's thankful that she doesn't have to actually answer any questions, they're all for the designer, but still… she'd much rather be able to leave with Harry.

Louis' mind starts to wander during the Q&A session, daydreaming about Harry instead of listening to the designer answer the same question posed ten different ways. She hasn't looked at Zayn once, she hardly even remembers he's standing right next to her until she feels fingertips grazing the skin of her arm and she's snapped out of her daydream. She pulls her arm away, quickly but covertly as to not draw unnecessary attention to the two of them.

"Lou," Zayn whispers.

Louis turns her head away, pretending she's glancing around at the gaggle of reporters scattered around the room.

"Saw you and your new boy earlier," Zayn goes on. "Looked quite cozy."

"What's it to you?" she hisses.

"Didn't peg you for a groupie, is all."

"It's not like that," Louis whispers harshly. She won't look at him, she doesn't want to see whatever smug sort of look he's got plastered over his face. "He's not like that."

Zayn snickers softly. "C'mon, Lou. He's a decent actor, but he's not _that_ good. You can't really believe he's in it for real."

Despite the fact that she's cursed Zayn and called him an assortment of names not fit to be repeated, she never actually thought he could be so cruel. She gives him a look of pure astonishment and hurt, only to be met with a look that tells her he got exactly the reaction he was looking for. He just wanted to hit her where it'd hurt her most.

Luckily for Louis the interview is finished shortly after Zayn's comment and she doesn't have to stand there and listen to him badmouth Harry any longer. She's anxious to get out of there as soon as she can, and while she doesn't have the luxury of being able to go home immediately she knows there's a far better chance of being able to avoid Zayn at the afterparty then there had been at the show. All she has to do is get changed into her provided dress, and thankfully there's a friendly face waiting for her to help.

"You looked gorgeous out there, Lou." Niall smiles broadly as Louis approaches.

"Thanks," Louis breathes out, trying her best to give Niall a genuine smile even though she's still hearing the echo of Zayn's voice in her head.

"Oh, no." Niall shakes her head. "What's happened now?"

"It's just…" Louis sighs sharply. "It's not worth it, really. Zayn's just being a dick."

"Again? Jesus, I really will punch him, at the rate he's going."

"As much as I'd love to see that," Louis laughs as she starts getting undressed, "it'd probably just make things worse."

"Probably," Niall agrees as she unzips the garment bag that's holding Louis' dress for the afterparty. "But it'd be fun."

"Liam said she'd punch him," Louis says with a laugh as she steps out of her skirt. "Can you imagine?"

"Fuck, I'd sell tickets to that!" Niall laughs as she helps Louis get into her dress. "I'm pretty sure Liam's never hurt anything in her life, not even a spider or a fly."

"Aiming for sainthood, I reckon." Louis smoothes out her dress as Niall finishes zipping it up in the back and then turns around. "How do I look?"

Niall takes a minute to look at her before she smiles. "Harry's gonna love it."

"Shut up," Louis mumbles, blushing.

"And _I'm_ gonna have to sit between you two all night so you don't start shagging in the middle of the party," Niall adds. "Didn't sign up to be a bloody third wheel, y'know."

"It's your own fault."

"Once again, I didn't tell you to shag him!"

Louis rolls her eyes. "Where is Harry, anyway?"

"I told him he couldn't come back here because you needed to change." Niall chuckles. "He didn't like that."

"You should never be given power over anyone," Louis says, "you'd enjoy it far too much."

Niall grins. "Just ask Brez."

Louis groans loudly, drowning out whatever else Niall was about to divulge about her sex life. She covers her ears and starts walking away, though Niall's right at her heels laughing hysterically behind her.

*

Niall certainly wasn't lying when she said she'd sit between Louis and Harry, and Louis finds this out when Niall purposefully climbs into the car waiting for them before she does. Harry's already inside, sitting at the far end when Louis gets in behind Niall.

Harry doesn't seem nearly as put out by it as Louis feels judging from the smile on his face. She pinches Niall, who slaps her hand in return, and then pouts at Harry when he doesn't do anything to try and get Niall to move.

It continues once they arrive at the club for the afterparty even though Louis tries to give Niall the slip once she gets out of the car. It works about as well as Louis was expecting it to and ends with Niall's arm around her waist as she pulls Louis through the sea of paparazzi towards the door. Harry manages to catch her hand as he falls in behind them and even though she keeps her head down, Louis is sure at least a few of the paparazzi caught the smile on her face with their cameras.

"C'mon, Niall," Louis huffs as the three of them stand at the bar, Niall rooted firmly between her and Harry. "Everyone's going to start thinking we're in a threeway or something."

"Please," Niall says with a cackle, "why would I leave Brez for you two?"

"You're missing the point," Louis whines, only barely resisting the urge to stomp her feet. Harry's still got the stupid smile on his face, more or less ignoring what Niall and Louis are saying as he orders them all drinks. "If Brez was here, I wouldn't keep you two apart."

"That's because Brez is four times your size," Niall says as she pats Louis' shoulder.

"Harry," Louis reaches past Niall to tug his jacket at the wrist, "you're not helping!"

"I'm helping!" Harry replies as the bartender sets down a drink in front of Louis. "See?"

Louis just glares at him as she picks up her drink and takes a sip. She refocuses her efforts on getting Niall to leave but it doesn't do any good at all, Niall isn't going anywhere.

"This is for your own good," Niall tells her after they've ordered their second round. "'m keeping you two from ending up in the papers for the wrong reasons."

"Oh, ye of little faith!" Louis rolls her eyes. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"Not all the time," Niall says with a laugh, "but you and Harry?" She shakes her head. "Not taking any chances."

Louis frowns, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout as she leans into the bar to look at Harry behind Niall. He's got his head turned towards the door where they came in but turns around after a few seconds, looking very pleased with himself. He raises his eyebrows at Louis and nods towards the door, piquing her curiosity so she looks around Niall's other side to see if she can tell what's made Harry so happy.

"Lou, what're you doing?" Niall asks with a laugh.

"Nothing," Louis answers quickly, but the bright smile on her faces gives away that she's hiding something and Niall gives her a suspicious look before she turns around.

It takes all of three seconds for Niall to go from being turned to stone to literally sprinting away from Louis and Harry into the arms of her boyfriend. Bressie catches her like she weighs absolutely nothing and holds her tightly as she kisses him hello, giving Louis the perfect opportunity to slide closer to Harry.

"I thought he was in Ireland," Louis murmurs, "what's he doing here?"

"Ireland's not that far," Harry replies.

"How'd he get in, though?"

"Must be an Irish thing," Harry says, avoiding Louis' eye when she looks up at him.

"You got him in, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry replies, his poorly-concealed laugh giving him away immediately.

"You did!" Louis jabs Harry's ribs and he catches her hand, slipping his arm around her waist as he pulls her close.

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise for Niall," he says as he leans in, "and now she won't be stuck between us all night."

Louis smiles as Harry kisses her and she curls her fingers around the collar of his shirt to keep him in place. She reaches up to thumb away a smudge of lipstick left on his mouth when he pulls away and she grins.

"It's a good color on you," she says.

"Is it?" Harry hums as Louis nods her head. "Perhaps I should get a bit more, then."

Harry's hold on her waist tightens as he kisses her again, pulling her as close to him as they can manage. Louis pulls away first, only because something hits her in the back and she turns her head to see Niall digging around in her purse for something else to throw at her.

"Get a room!" she shouts.

"Fuck off!" Louis shouts back, giving Niall the finger. She hears Niall cackle as she turns back to Harry with a smile. "Where were we?"

"Someone mentioned getting a room," Harry says with a smirk. Just before Louis can suggest that they ditch the party, Niall and Bressie appear at their side and Niall pulls Louis out of Harry's arms.

"C'mon, I wasn't being serious," she says as she tugs Louis back far enough that she can redirect her back to her spot near the bar. "Time for more drinks."

"Niall," Louis whines, "you don't see me getting between you and Brez."

"Because you already know how that would end," Niall replies with a laugh as she pushes Louis' drink into her hand.

Louis pouts as she brings the glass up to her lips, drinking half of it in one go. She only stops because she feels Harry press up against her back as Bressie does the same to Niall, and Louis sighs as she leans back into him.

"I think it's time for shots," Niall declares.

"Oh god," Louis groans as Harry chuckles in her ear.

"Think that's a good idea, chief?" Bressie asks.

"Shots are always a good idea," Niall replies, pressing a quick kiss against Bressie's mouth before she flags down the bartender, ordering eight shots in one go.

"Jesus, Niall, you trying to kill us?" Louis asks.

"Us?" Niall cackles. "Those are all for you." Niall's grin lasts all of ten seconds against Louis' look of pure terror. "Fuck, I'm _kidding_! Shit, the look on your face." She bursts into uproarious laughter and Louis smacks her shoulder repeatedly.

"Not! Funny! Niall!"

"It's a bit funny," Harry says, putting his mouth close to Louis' ear before she can turn around and smack him as well. "We all know how you get after three shots, anyway."

"So I should take one of yours, then?" she asks, tilting her head up so she can brush her lips against Harry's jawline.

"Hey, hey!" Both Harry and Louis turn their attention back to Niall. "Keep it up and I'll start slapping Harry where he doesn't want to be slapped."

"Niall!" Louis turns to Bressie. "Tell her to keep her hands away from Harry's dick!"

"Better him than me, love." Bressie shrugs, sending Niall into another fit of laughter.

"You are both the _worst_ ," Louis says with a huff as their shots are lined up in front of them. "Absolutely made for each other," she grumbles.

"Same to you," Niall says as she picks up a shot and clinks it against the one closest to Louis.

It doesn't take long for the alcohol to hit Louis' system, along with everyone else's, and before she knows it, they're all out on the dancefloor. Harry doesn't stray far from her at all and Louis is pleased to find that Niall focuses far more on Bressie than she does on keeping the two of them apart. Louis actually finds herself turning away from them in favor of looking at Harry, partially because she thinks perhaps that Niall and Bressie are going to be the ones who get indecent on the dancefloor and she certainly doesn't need to see it.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" Harry murmurs in her ear as she slips her arms around his neck. She giggles and tucks her face against him, leaning on him a little more heavily than she would've an hour or so ago.

"You're always telling me," she replies, sighing softly as Harry's hands slide up and down her sides.

"Because you're always beautiful," he replies.

Louis laughs as she tilts her head back and pokes Harry's nose. "You're drunk."

"So are you," he says, laughing in return. Louis hums and kisses him, trailing down the line of his jaw until her mouth reaches his ear.

"Remember that fantasy of yours?"

Harry's hands tighten on her hips. "Yeah."

"You never asked if I had one," she says as she starts rolling her hips against his in time with the music blaring all around them.

"Do you?" Harry asks. He slips his thigh between Louis' legs to give her something better to grind against and she moans softly in his ear. "Lou, tell me."

"Remember the plane?" Louis laughs breathlessly. "Remember when you got me off with just your fingers with all those people around?"

"Yeah," Harry groans, slipping one hand down to Louis' arse and squeezing it roughly through the tight fabric of her dress. Louis' hips stutter forward and she moans again. "That what you want, Lou?"

"Yes," she gasps. "Do it, Harry."

"Louis…" Harry sounds hesitant even as he pants breathlessly in her ear.

"Don't you want to?" Louis whimpers. "You came so hard after the last time, thought you'd wanna do it again."

"You gonna suck me off after?" Harry grunts. "Right here on the dancefloor?"

"Would you want me to?" Louis asks, smiling as Harry pulls his leg away and she feels his hand start to drift between them, slowly slipping down to the hem of her dress.

"No," Harry answers after a beat. "Don't wanna let anyone else watch you."

"Not into sharing?" Louis shakes a little as Harry's fingers brush against her thighs under her dress.

"No," Harry growls in her ear.

"Good," she gasps as he touches her, his finger brushing against where she's already wet.

" _Fuck_ ," Harry moans in her ear. "You're not… god, _Louis_."

"Wanted to be ready," Louis whispers, her voice going higher as Harry pushes his fingers deeper. She clings to his shoulders and presses her face against his neck, already shaking against him as he moves his fingers inside of her.

"Gotta keep quiet," Harry says, as though anyone could possibly hear them over the music, "don't let anyone catch on."

"Hurry up," Louis whines. "Wanna come."

"Know you do, know you always wanna come." Harry squeezes her arse again. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Since after the show," Louis admits with a whimper. "Should've fucked me when you came backstage."

"You're the one who sent me back out," Harry says, picking up the pace with his fingers and Louis bites down on his shoulder to keep from crying out. "I would've fucked you if you'd let me."

"Yeah?" Louis moans in Harry's ear. "You would've let me sit on your cock with all those people around? Let everyone see how much I want you?"

"Fuck," Harry groans as he suddenly attaches his mouth to Louis' neck and sucks hard. She gasps as he keeps going, no doubt trying to leave her with a dark bruise for everyone to see. The combination of his mouth on her skin and his fingers buried deep inside of her brings Louis closer to the edge faster than she was expecting and suddenly she comes, only just barely managing to bury the sound of her cry against Harry's shoulder.

Louis continues to cling to Harry as he pulls his fingers out of her, dragging them along the inside of her thigh and leaving a trail of her wetness that makes her knees even weaker. Her neck aches where Harry left his mark but she'd let him give her another on the other side in a heartbeat. Harry lets his arm fall to his side while keeping his other around Louis' waist as he kisses her cheek and chuckles.

"You alright?" he murmurs. Louis clears her throat and lifts her head, looking Harry straight in the eye as she closes her hand around his wrist and brings his fingers up to her lips.

Harry opens his mouth, presumably to protest, but nothing comes out save for a choked moan once Louis sucks his fingers into her mouth. She raises her eyebrows in a challenge and Harry bites down on his bottom lip as he stares at her. Louis can feel his cock pressed against her hip and every time she runs her tongue over his fingers his grip on her waist tightens.

"Hey, enough of that!" Niall's voice calls out over the music as her hand pulls Louis' off of Harry's wrist and his fingers draw back from her mouth. "You don't know where those have been."

"Pretty sure I do," Louis replies with a wicked smirk as Harry stifles his laughter.

"See, Brez? This is what happens when you distract me." Niall huffs loudly as she situates herself between Harry and Louis yet again. "You, go get some drinks with Brez. Lou, you're staying here."

"Alright, alright," Harry says, ducking in to press a quick kiss to Louis' cheek before Niall pushes him away.

Niall waits until Harry and Bressie are far enough away before she slaps Louis' arse and starts laughing when Louis glares at her.

"You slag! I leave you alone for five minutes and you're…" Niall clicks her tongue as she tilts Louis' face to the side so she can look at the mark Harry left. She lets go of Louis' chin a moment later and shakes her head. "I don't even wanna know."

"Nobody saw," Louis says with a huff. "You're just jealous because Brez didn't get _you_ off in the middle of the dancefloor."

Niall rolls her eyes. "Yes, Lou," she deadpans, "that's exactly it. It's not at all because you and Harry just keep shagging instead of _talking_."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Louis replies as she turns her head away from Niall.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Niall says. "C'mon, Lou, you can't really say you two aren't getting serious after that interview he gave about you."

"Why's everyone so interested in us?" Louis asks with a huff. "Why can't we just be together without a label?"

Niall scoffs. "Have you seen you two? If you're thinking you don't already have a label, you're blind."

"We don't," Louis snaps. "Shut up."

"You do." Niall snickers. "It's called 'stupidly in love with each other.'"

"Shut up," Louis repeats. Her cheeks flush a deep red that's hidden by the lights of the club. "I can't be in love with him, it's hardly been a month."

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard," Niall says. "You're staring at him right now with fuckin' hearts in your eyes."

Louis darts her eyes away from Harry and turns back to Niall. "I am not!"

"Yes, you are!" Niall puts her hands on Louis' shoulders. "And that's okay, can't you see?"

Louis groans and shuffles closer to Niall, putting her head on Niall's shoulder as she grumbles, "this is all your fault."

Niall laughs. "I'll take responsibility at your wedding. Put it in my toast and everything."

"God," Louis groans again, "shut up."

"Alright, alright." Niall sighs. "But only because I think we've got trouble."

"What?" Louis lifts her head. "What trouble?"

"C'mon," Niall says as she takes Louis' hand and starts pulling her through the crowd towards the bar. Louis thinks her confusion will clear up as soon as they get there but as it turns out she's met with a scene that only leads to more questions.

She sees Zayn clutching a napkin full of ice against his jaw but she can hardly even spare a thought to wonder where he even came from because as she looks around, she only finds Bressie. Harry's nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Harry?" she asks. Niall's already rushed over to Bressie to try and figure out what happened so her question is met with no answer. "Where's Harry?" she repeats, sounding more frantic than before as she strides over to Bressie.

"They escorted him out not two minutes ago," he explains. "He's fine, Louis, he just--"

"What happened?" Louis asks, her heart beating so fast it feels like she's on the verge of a panic attack.

"That one," Bressie says, pointing at Zayn, his hand shaking with visible rage, "should've kept his fuckin' mouth shut."

"What did he--" Niall starts to say, even turning her head back towards him, but Louis immediately cuts in.

"It doesn't fucking matter," Louis says as she pulls herself away from both Niall and Bressie. "I have to find Harry."

Louis pushes her way through the crowd, ignoring Niall shouting for her to wait. The moment she gets through the door she's bombarded by camera flashes that blind her and make it infinitely harder to see if Harry's anywhere around. There are too many people around her shouting and they drown out her own voice calling for Harry but somehow he still manages to find her.

"Louis," he says as he catches her when she pushes past the paparazzi and runs into his arms. "Louis, I'm so sorry."

"Harry," she cries, clutching him like he's the most precious thing in the world.

"Lou, I swear, I didn't mean to-- I'm sorry, I just--"

Louis cuts him off with a kiss and even more flashes go off all around them. "You better not be apologizing for punching him," she says.

"I shouldn't have done it," Harry replies as he cups Louis' face in his hands. "It was stupid."

"I wish I'd seen it," Louis says, moaning a little as she kisses Harry again. "God, Harry."

"Louis," he groans as she wraps herself around him. They're hardly aware of anyone around them anymore, too engrossed in each other to even care that there's hundreds of pictures being taken.

"Take me home, _please_ ," Louis whimpers in Harry's ear. "Need you."

Harry's smile lights up his whole face and it hits Louis right in her heart, overwhelming her with the feelings she's been trying so hard not to let show. The words she's been avoiding are on the tip of her tongue and she thinks that maybe she's finally ready to say them, but then someone else speaks first.

"That's enough! Get away, let 'em breathe!"

Louis laughs as Niall and Bressie pave the way for them, hailing the first car they see and blocking the view of the cameras as Harry and Louis slip into it. She half expects Niall and Bressie to climb in after them but the door slams shut behind her instead. It's suddenly quiet as the car pulls away from the club after Harry gives the driver his address, and Louis has lost her nerve.

She curls up against Harry's side when he offers, sliding her legs across his lap and tucking her head under his chin so they're as close as they can be. He kisses the top of her head and laces their fingers together while his other hand comes to rest just past Louis' shoulder. He traces invisible patterns on her skin through her dress and hums a tune that's familiar and soothing.

Between one street and the next, Louis falls asleep.

*

Louis wakes up in a bed. There's a slight pounding in her head and she doesn't remember how she got home let alone how she got out of her dress and into a bed. She opens her eyes a crack and immediately decides it's too much and shuts them again with a groan as she rolls over and presses her face into the pillow below her head, hoping that maybe she can just go back to sleep.

She jerks in surprise when she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder, relaxing under the touch as Harry rubs the spot between her shoulderblades. He murmurs something that Louis doesn't catch and it piques her interest enough that she turns her head and opens her eyes to see that he's sitting up in bed next to her with his phone pressed to his ear.

"No, I get it, I'm just…" Harry sighs. "I don't want to drag anyone through the mud, alright? But if I have to issue an apology then he should have to admit that what he said was wrong."

Louis sighs softly as she rolls onto her back, catching Harry's hand before he pulls it away. He looks down at her with a small smile and she kisses his knuckles before she smiles back.

"Can I call you back?" Harry sighs again and then laughs. "Yes, if I plan on punching someone again, you'll be the first person I'll call."

"Who's that?" Louis asks when Harry's set his phone aside and settled back into bed.

"My publicist," Harry answers with a deep breath as he tugs Louis closer. "Apparently it's frowned upon to go around punching people."

"Really?" Louis hums. "Who knew?"

Harry chuckles. "It's also frowned upon to get papped when you're getting kicked out of a club for punching someone."

"Harry--" Louis closes her eyes as Harry leans his forehead against hers.

"And even more frowned upon to get papped a hundred times more when you're kissing your girlfriend after getting kicked out of a club for punching someone."

"Well, that's what you get when you…" Louis pauses when what Harry's said sinks in and she realizes that he just called her his girlfriend. She sits up suddenly, pulling the sheets up around her and clutching her head when the movement makes her head spin.

"Lou, you alright?" Harry asks as he sits up and tucks her hair behind her ear and away from her face.

"I… umm," she laughs nervously, "you just… you called me your girlfriend."

Harry clicks his tongue and laughs as his hand drops down to the bed. "Caught that, did you?"

"It's just we haven't talked about it--"

"I know we haven't talked about it--"

They both break off into awkward laughter after talking over each other. Louis turns her head away from Harry and breathes in deeply while Harry shifts closer to her and hesitantly puts his arm around her waist. He rests his chin on her shoulder and she hums quietly.

"D'you wanna talk about it?" Harry asks. Louis starts to fidget as Harry brushes his lips against her bare skin. She remembers what she wanted to say last night, not nearly drunk enough to forget, but somehow it's even harder in the light of day to look Harry in the eyes and say the words.

"Yes?" Louis says, wincing when it comes out more of a question than anything else. Harry chuckles and kisses her shoulder again. "Stop that," she whines, "it's distracting."

"Sorry," he replies as he draws back from her and lets out a soft breath. "D'you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Harry," Louis laughs weakly, "you can't just _say_ it like that--"

"Why not?"

"It's barely been a month, you can't--"

"It's been over a month," Harry argues lightly.

"Alright, it's been about six weeks," Louis huffs, "still, you can't--"

"Why not?" Harry says again as he slips his arms around her again. "We've spent the last six weeks together, you're not sick of me already, are you?"

"No, Harry, god--" Louis groans. "I'm just… what I'm trying to say is… that… fuck," Louis says with a whine as she buries her face in her hands. All she wants to do is say the right thing and she keeps coming up short.

"What?" Harry asks, being so patient that Louis feels her resolve crumble.

"I'm scared," she whispers. She turns and curls against Harry's chest, hiding her face as she adds, "because I think I love you."

Harry pulls back, coaxing Louis out of her hiding place so he can cup her face in his hands. He doesn't wait for her to open her eyes before he's kissing her and she sighs against his mouth.

"You're scared because you think you love me?" Harry asks softly once he's pulled away. He keeps his hands on either side of her face, pressing his forehead against hers as he waits for Louis to open her eyes. "That's why you don't want to be my girlfriend?"

"I didn't say that," Louis replies weakly, still keeping her eyes closed.

"So you do want to be my girlfriend?" Harry asks. Even with her eyes closed, Louis knows he's smiling.

"Why do you want me to be your girlfriend?" Louis asks with a sigh. "You could--"

Harry cuts her off with another kiss. "Were you about to say I could find someone better?"

"Maybe," Louis replies as she blushes a deep red.

"You're wrong," Harry says matter-of-factly. "I could never find anyone else who knows me so well after only six weeks. You're who I want, Louis. I want to make you laugh and smile and blush and a hundred other things. I want to hold you and never let you go, protect you from all the…" Harry groans as he goes tense, "the _stupid_ lies that mean nothing at all."

Louis opens her eyes and her heart skips when she finds that Harry's already staring at her. His face lights up with a smile when he realizes she's finally opened her eyes.

"I can take care of myself," Louis murmurs. Harry laughs brightly and kisses her.

"I know you can," he tells her, "but just in case, you've got me on your side."

"As my boyfriend?" Louis asks with a smile.

"If you'll have me."

Louis' mouth twitches with a smirk and she shrugs one shoulder. "Could be handy in a fight."

"'m quite scrappy," Harry replies, matching Louis' smirk. Louis lasts for barely two seconds before she starts giggling and Harry pulls her close. He reclines back onto the bed and Louis follows, pressed up close against him as they get comfortable.

They lie quietly for a while, content just to hold each other after the conversation that was long overdue. Louis chuckles quietly to herself as she thinks about how proud Niall would be if she knew, but there's no way Louis is going to pull away from Harry just yet. Niall can wait.

"Remember that surprise I promised you?" Harry asks casually as he drags his fingers up and down Louis' side.

"Is it finally ready?" she asks with an air of amusement. She has an idea of what Harry's surprise is going to be but she's going to play along.

"It had to be the right time," Harry says as he pulls away from Louis just enough to reach into the bedside table drawer. Louis lays back and closes her eyes, laughing to herself because this is _exactly_ what she expected. She opens her eyes and props herself up when Harry settles back in next to her, but the smile is gone when she sees what's in his hands.

"Harry," she says flatly as her eyes dart from the small box in his hands up to his face. "What is that?"

"It's your surprise," he says as he hands it to her. She sits up and the box tumbles into her lap but she's too busy staring Harry down to retrieve it.

"Harry," she says, her voice slightly sharper than before, "we _just_ had the relationship talk, do you really think--"

Harry cuts her off with a kiss, smirking as he pulls back. "Just open it, Louis."

Louis plucks the box off of her lap, getting ready to throw it at Harry if she finds what she's expecting, but freezes when what's inside turns out to be a set of keys. She looks at Harry with her mouth agape in surprise and he just continues to smirk at her.

"You were saying?" he asks.

"What are these?" Louis picks up the keys, hooking the ring around her finger and jingling them in his face.

"They're keys, Louis." Harry clicks his tongue. "C'mon, you know that."

"You're _such_ an ass," Louis mutters, turning her head away so Harry can't see that she's trying not to smile.

"You love me," Harry whispers in her ear as he pulls her back against him. "And now you won't have to break into my house ever again."

Louis laughs as she sags against him. "Excuse me, I never _broke in_ , Niall gave me a key."

"Which you never gave back, I'm assuming." Harry grins against her hair. "Now it can join these ones."

"Is this your way of asking me to move in?" Louis tilts her head back. "Because you're terrible at it."

"Well, we only _just_ had the relationship talk," Harry says, smiling smugly when Louis rolls her eyes at him. "But seeing as how you love me and," he puts his mouth to her ear, "I love you too, I think you'll forgive me and say yes."

"Is that right?" Louis asks as she twirls the keys around.

"Yep," Harry replies with a kiss to her cheek.

"S'pose I can't say no, then." Louis turns in Harry's arms and pushes him down, pinning him to the bed as she climbs on top of him.

"It's in your best interest to say yes," Harry says as he puts his hands on her waist while Louis leans down.

"Is it, now?" She hums, breaking into a smile as she kisses him.

"Say it," he begs as they keep kissing.

"Yes," she breathes out, giggling when Harry flips her over and kisses her hard. "Yes, Harry, _yes_."

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


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